t LIBRARY OF COXiiRKSS. I 

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JUXITi:i):STATES OF AMERICA.^ 



— I 

THE WIG AND THE JIMMY : ' 



OR, 



A LEAF IN THE 



V 



POLITICAL IIISTOHY OF NEW YOIIK. 



f'Alitur vUium vivitque legendo. 



PRICE, TWENTY-FIVE CENTS. 



NEW YOEK: 
PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR. 

18G9. 



THE WIG AND THE JIMMY 



^; 



', -V 



OE, 



A LEAF I]N^ THE 



POLITICAL HISTORY OF NEW YORK 



^'Alilur vitiuin vivitque tege7ido. 



Entered according to Act ol Congrces in the vtar l.Mjy, hy 
EUGENE J. POST, 
In ibe Clevk's ofllce of the District Conrt of the United States for t!ie Dis-trict of 2> cnt .; -rs 



^'EW YOIIK: 
PUBI.ISH£:i:> BY THJE AUTHOR. 



it. 
PEE F A C E. 



rps^ 



At the instance of the Union League Club of New York the House oi 
Representatives, on the 14th day of December, 1868, appointed a Committee ot 
■3evt;n to investigate alleged frauds in the Presidential Election of 186S in the Stat?e 
cf New York. Such Committee entered at once upon the discharge of its onerous 
>d«,sle6 and held sessions in New York City, Peekskill, Kingston, Rondour, Troy, 
•S&eliester, Middletown, Port Jervis, Montgomery, Hamptonburg, Newburg and 
'<jrO£;iien in the State of New York, and Washington, D. C. The testimony taken 
by it while very voluminous in extent, covering nearly nine hundred printed pages, 
waE of a directness and importance rarely obtained in similar investigations and 
necessitated a report of great length and cxplicitness. Owing to these and other 
causes it was not until about a week prior to the expiration of the term of the 
Fortieth Congress that the Committee was able to submit the result of its labors t» 
the 2iouBe, which at so late a period in the session could take no action upon the 
foilk reported or recommendations made. The large expense attending the printing 
aad binding of the report and testimony led the House Committee on Printing to 
4ess3i it unwise to publish more than two thousand copies, a number so small as to 
alisw each Member of Congress but four volumes. Unfortunately, the press was 
MBable, owing to the length of the report, to give little more than a hastily pre- 
pared telegraphic abstract of the Committee's conclusions. Thus, from causes 
inherent in the very nature and extent of the work, the circulation and publicity 
'(j'hicli its importance demanded were estopped, and the legislation which the neces- 
sitssc of the case required was delayed. Knowing that no correct, true or intelli- 
gCEK; idea of the facts is prevalent, and believing that only through a general and 
-•wifire spread knowledge of the illegal and partially successful attempt of tlie 
"Democracy of New York to thrust minority candidates — both State and 
"National — into places ol power and trust, can the American peopl become 
■acquainted with the .dangers through which they have passed, or be prepared t® 
iprotect themselves in the future against the machinations of eril and designing 
■mcji, the following pages, narrating in a brief and comprehensive form the more 
important facts sworn to before the Committee, have been prepared. 

Without malice, with no motive other than a desire to see perpetuated the 
institutions of our country, and in the full realization of Bacon's charge that 
"men's reputations are tender things and ought to be like Christ's coat, without 
seam," has this pamphlet been written, in good faith, believing the statements 
contained therein to be true. Confident that the interests of society, good 
order and puregovcrnment will bcadvanccd by its publication, it is respectfully 
submitted far the earnest consideration of a thoughtful public in every portion 
of our national domain. •••^ '. 

...••' THE AUTHOR. 



CHAPTEPv L 



rN"TR(iI)UCTOUT. 

An incident which traiH])irod dtmnii; tho Spriiii;; of 186-4 in on© of 
the Southern cities convinced the writer, who was an eye witness, that 
the fear of exposure and the dread of public opinion were the most 
wholesome and eftectiTe means of punishino; and preventing evil, 

A woman of mnie thirtj years of n^a was captured one evening^ 
shortly after dark, eudeavorino; to run the lines of tho army. A care- 
ful search of lier })erson beinii^ made, four largo bags were found 
beneath her under garments, suspended from her waist. The contents 
were mixed — l>eing letters, shoes, thread, Tieedles anil quinine. 

A young officer on the sU*it of tlie Commanding General of the 
Department, to whom the captured proy)erty was forwarded for ex- 
amination, puweedod the same night in linding and arresting a young 
woman of high social standing arid personal accomplishments as the 
a\ithor «f a most unwomanly letter Ibund among this intercepted mail, 
i'ontaining information sought to bo conreyed to the enemy, of certain 
moA'ements about to be nuido by the Federal forces. The letter was 
addressed to a lover in tlie llebel army, and written in the closest pos- 
sible manner upon eight pagas of French note paper. The sojourn in 
the neighborhood of the " cursed Yankees" was deplored and regretted, 
in that Southern girls had been found quite willing to liirt and coquette 
"with the " vandals," and in instances had so far degraded them- 
selves as to form life partnerships. Miscegenation was discussed with 
much gusto as purely of Nortliern origin. Four ])nge3 were devoted 
to a minute and detxiiled reheai-sal of private gossip and scandal respect- 
ing her niorc conservative or politic neighbors, who so &r recognized 
the situation *m to act under the belief that a Union soldier might be a 
gentleman. lU'tails, so far as fhe had been able to gather, respecting 
an ex})edition about to move u]K)n the rebel ca])ito!, were added as her 
mite to aid the cause of secesgion. The information imparted that a 
letter, which would not have l>een taken from the Po;'^t OfficQ save for 
the belief that it came from the South under flag of truce, had been 
recently received from her aunt in Cincinnati, who wrote that two 
cousins had b(,»th served in the Union army, and one had "died fight- 
ing bravely f<>r kis country at ChiittanoogM." And finally, as calcu- 
lated to specially commend her to the atfoctions of kor lover, was 
added. " and I am glad he is dead, fightinj^ in such a cause ;" while a 
closing ]Tirayer was uttered that he whom tiio Almighty had for some 
unknown i-gasou seen fi-t to atliict the South witli, in the person of Gen- 
eral Butler, " may never die a natural death, or be gaU^ered home t© 
his fatliers, but may ssntfer all the tortud-o po:*»ible for ni(a-tal man 
to endure." 

Th.e facts being repd-tod to the Ci^mmander of the DopartHient, that 
officer (fiirected the immediate release of tho autlioa- of tka letter and 
return to her home ; aajd, as a ^mnishineofc Ibr hei* oil'on^e and a warn- 



in^ to others, ordered that the communication be pnhh'slicd in the 
official papers, sitrnod with her full name and address, and an appenda- 
tory statement that all future transgressors of the law requiring mes- 
eages across the lines to be sent under flag of truce would be similprly 
dealt with. Mark the result. A spontaneous and universal outburst 
of popular indignation followed, which but for the firm yet merciful 
hand of military rule, would, regardless of the sex of the offender, have 
visited her with condign ami summary punishment, while the innocent 
members of the families of a mother and brother were openly insulted 
and threatened with personal violence. Indeed, bo lasting and deep 
was the popular feeling that total social ostracism and seclusion became 
obligatory upon the transgressor, and from that hour until the close of 
the war no communication of any character was known to clandestinely 
leave the city, while tlie flag of truce mail for the South from that 
locality increased the following week to more than two-thirds its fonner 
proportions, and so continued. 

So that it is seen that what danger of capture, trial by military com- 
mission, long imprisonment and risk of life itself had theretofore been 
unable to prevent, was at once brought to an end by mere dread of 
publicity and fear of the scorn and contempt of society. 

In the belief that known facts are oftentimes the most powerful 
weapons of offense or defense ; that rogues and villains fear exposm'e ; 
that the arousing of public opinion against any species of crime is the 
most effective means of thwarting, if not preventing it ; and that 
quick, decisive, yet unremitting warfare should be waged until desired 
results are attained, we enter upon the work of detailing the history of 
the election frauds in New York in 1868, the character of the 
leaders and more active participants therein, and their connection 
therewith. 

During the month of October, 1808, and within a few hours of the 
State election in Pennsylvania, when both of the great political parties 
in that commonwealth were bending all their energies to win success, 
there left the City of New York in the interests of the Democratic 
party a large number of gamblers, roughs and professional scoundrels 
of every description, prominent among whom was a member of the 
Common Council. These gentry on arriving in Philadelpliia at once 
took an active interest in the struggle, and on the day of election were 
found voting illegally in the several \vards and precincts. Subsequently, 
many of them were indicted l)y the Grand Jury of Philadelphia for 
their oftences, but before warrants were issued they had hied to their 
respective homes in the more hospitable City of New York. Believ- 
ing " an ounce of prevention worth a pound of cure," the Quaker City 
authorities did not follow the matter vigorously, preferring to hold over 
them the indictments as security for future good conduct than to risk 
their trial by jury during the exciting hours of a Presidential election 
then close at hand. 

The experiment on behalf of the Democracy had been far from un- 
successful, and emboldened and encouraged thereby it was determined 
to carr}' it out on a larger scale in November in tlieir own strongholds 
of political power where Grand Juries, Courts and Judges would not 
or dared not interfere tlierewith. The programme as accomplished was 
as shrewd, comprehensive and bold as wicked, illegal and villainous. 



Tlie main features were the employment of repeaters and the whole- 
Bale issue of fraudulont certificates of naturalization. The details em- 
bodied, 

J^^irst — A wicked, confessedly untrue and libellous proclamation from 
the Mayor of the City of IScw York, the Democratic candidate for 
Governor. 

Second — A secret circular i.-sued from the rooms of the Democratic 
State Committee requostin;:; telegraphic estimates of the majorities in 
the several towns and cities in the State, to be sent to Wra. M. Tweed, 
at Tammany Hall, at the minute of closing the polls. 

Third — Instructions from A. Oakey Hall, then District Attorney 
and Secretary of the Democratic Executive Committee, now Mayor of 
the City of New York, to all Democratic canvas^i-rs in the city, to 
"prolong the count as fiir as possible," whereby the leaders, knowing 
the estimated majorities against them in the " State," had it within 
their power, by means of fraudulent canvassing, altered returns and 
ballot-box stuffing — most if not all of which were employed — to over- 
ride and defeat the popular will ; and 

FoxiHh — The swearing in by James O'Brien, Slieriff of the County 
of New York, himself an ex-inmate of the Penitentiary, of some two 
thousand special deputies — an unusual and unnecessary proceeding — 
most of whom, judging from the history, antecedents and behaviour ot 
those known to us, were thieves, and other disre})utable characters, 
whose principal occupation appears to have been to protect, aid and 
abet fraudulent votincj, and annov, threaten and arrest honest and faith- 
ful ejection officers and peaceable law-abidmg citizens. 

It is not proposed, however, to here consider these details, but to 
confine ourselves to the two prominent and distinctive measures pre- 
viously mentioned. 



OlIAPTEPv 11. 



REPEATING. 

*rhis form of fraud is first referred to in the annals of our National 
politics, in a report of the Judiciary Committee of the United States 
Senate appointed to investigate the frauds in the Presidential election 
of 1844, when it Wiis proven to have been practiced, although to a limit- 
ed extent. Since then it has been comparatively unknown. The fol- 
lowers of St. Tammany, after nearly a quarter of a century, revived it 
in 1868, when its novelty, nature and modus operandi seem to have 
peculiarly attracted the attention of both rank and file. 

A repeater is one, who, without right and against law, makes a busi- 
ness of registering or voting, or both. As in bounty jumping and de- 
sertion, occupations quite familiar to most repeaters, the number of 
times a registry or vote may be repeated in a single day depends largelj 



upon the nerve of the man engaged. And a moment's reflection npon 
the fact that during tiie War liundreds of men, with tlie knowledge 
that an ignominious death would follow detection, hesitated not to en- 
list, receive bounty and desert more than a half score of times, must con- 
vince the most doubting mind that the same class would from innato 
depravity, if no other reason wa,s found, engage in a work so full of ex- 
citement and adventure as " repeating," especially when practically in- 
formed by an honorable Justice ot the Supreme Court, as will be hereafter 
seen, that although arrested in the very commission of the crime neither 
conviction nor punishment would follow. The proof of repeating is 
sufficiently abundant to fully justify the report of the Congressional 
Committee which thoroughly investigated the facts, that if it had devoted 
its entire time for three months to this matter alone, " it would not have 
been possible to ascertain or take testimony to prove the numler of jycr- 
sons who voted more than once'^ in the City of Kew York, and that the 
cliaracter of the evidence fully proved the fact that " an organized system 
was perfected antl carried into effect by members of the Democratic 
party to register many thousands ot names, fictitious or assumed, and 
then to vote on them by hundreds of persons voting from two to forty 
times each day for the Democratic candidates." 

The instances given l)elow, while convincing the reader of the accura- 
cy of these opinions, will illustrate the manner in which the work was- 
carried on and the character of the men a!id means employed therein. 

William H. Greene, a patrolman, attached to the Seventh Precinct 
Police, was one •■»f the ofHcers on duty at the place of registry of the 
Sixth District of the Seventh "Ward during the first two days of re- 
gistration. On one of those days he observed a gang of men, several of 
whom were known to him by name, and all of whom he knew had no 
residence in the district, register themselves from the houses of Wm. M. 
Tweed (Grand Sachem of Tammany Hall, State Senator, Deputy 
Street Commissioner and Supervisor), Patrick H. Keenan Coroner of 
the City and County of New York), and Edward J. Shan Iley (Police 
Justice). Most of them were registered without objection on the part of 
any one, but some few being challenged promptly took the statutory 
oaths and compelled the registration of their names. The character of 
these repeaters may be learned from Greene, who has stated iinder oath 
that most of them were " thieves who have several aliases," while " the 
leader of the gang who registered from Coroner Keenan's house, as 
Henry J. Lawrence, is an Englishman, known by the name of Charles 
"Wilson, alias 'Nibbs' or ' Kibbsey,' a celebrated pickpocket who has 
Btolen fortunes, but somehow or other always slips through and is never 
prosecuted." On the opposite page may be seen a copy of the likeness 
of this favorite of the judicial and political ring as it appears in the 
Rogues' Gallery at Police Headquarters. An unwillingness to leave his 
counterpart exhibited itself to such an extent when sittmg for his pho- 
tograph, that two stalwart members of the force were compelled to 
steady his head and c- 'Utrol his facial expression. 

Another of this gang, by name Patsey Nolan, alias John Reilly, 
was a notorious thief, since arriested f«.«r stealing a diamond pin. For- 
tunately wo are able to trace these worthy Democrats still further. 
Late at night on Friday the 30th of October, when but a day of registry 
remained, Inspector George W. "Walling, one ot the most earnest and 




OHAS. WILSON, ALIAS HENEY J. LAWRENCE, alias "NIBBSEY" 
Pickpocket and Repeater. 



faithful officers of the Metropolitan force, learned thatas^ang of repeat- 
ers under the leadership of William Varlej, alias " Reddj the Black- 
Rmitir' (so called from tlie color of his hair and his f >rmer occupation )y. 
vrell-known as the j)roprietor of a low drinking Raloon on Cnathaia 
Street, tlie headquarters of one of the woret gangs of tiiieves and cut 
throats known to the police, had hecn engaged in regi.-itering from a 
house on Catherine Street, and propo^Hid the following day (■hanging 
its rendezvous to No. 29 East J3roadway, and resuming 0])orations, 
For the purpose of verifying his information. Walling, early on Satur- 
day morning, the 31st, accompanied by six offi(;ers in citizens dress, {ii'O 
cecded to the locality named and spent t^everal houivi in j.atiently 
watching the suspec+ed houpe. Shortly before two o'clock, 1' M., sign.9 
of activity were manifest and the detectives observed a numKcr of nier 
leave the house and proceed to the place of registry of the First distric 
of the Seventh Ward. From there they returned to East Broadway, 
and shortly reappearing proceeded to another place of registry in an 
adjoining district. Satisfied now of the work these men were engaged 
in, Walhng allowed tliem to return to their rendezvous, when ho at 
once made a descent, drove in and captured a posted watcher before he 
eould give an alarm, arrested the entire gang — eight in all — and seized 
tlieir book. The men were taken at once to Police Headquarters and 
incarcerated, and the book turned over to the Superintendent. 

An examination and comparison of this book with the original regis- 
ters for the 1st, 3d, 4th, 6th and 7th districts of the Seventh Ward,, 
established tlie startling fact that these eight men had registered one 
hundred and sixty-one fictitious or assumed names, assigning as resi- 
dences fifty-five difierent houses in East Broadway, Ilcnry, i^kLarket, 
Monroe and Division Streets, and that they wore a part of the same 
pang of repeaters observed by Ofllcer Greene on the first or second 
day of registration, registering from the houses of Tweed, Iveenan 
and Shandley, Convinced that " Eeddy the Blacksmith," although net 
with tliese repeaters when arrested, was one of their number, AValling 
went at once to his saloon. Not finding him in, he searched the place 
and seized another book similar in size and appearance to the one pre- 
viously obtained, containing some sixty additional names with the 
number of a house and street opposite each, which names were sub- 
sequently ascertained to be mainly registered in the Sth District of the 
Sixth and 4th District of the Seventh Wards, The similarity existing 
in the assumed names found in the two books thus obtained, and other 
strong circumstantial evidence renders it quit-e certain that the 
latter book was also the property of the arrested eight, thus makinej two 
hundred and twenty fraudulent and illegal registrations accomplished 
by this gang. 

Of the character of these repeat ei-s, Walling confirmed Ofiicer Greene, 
in that one of them he " knew very well by reputation as a pickpocket," 
while Detective Irving stated that another was a deputy of Sheriff 
O'Brien, from whom was taken at headquarters " his shield, and alsa 
Bome orders of arrest found on his person. ' 

And now reader, mark well how faithfully Tammany protects its 
«ipj)ortei-s and adherents at the expense of law, justice and good order. 
Betw( en six ond seven o'clock in the evening of the day ot arrest, Wm, 
F. II owe, well-known as a criminal lawyer and Democrat, appeared at- 



8 

Headquarters and ser^-ol upon Detective Irving, the officer in cbarg'e, 
a writ oi habeas corpus tlii-eeting the bodies of the eight to be brought 
" before the Honorable ( reorge G. Barnard, Justice of our Supreme 
Court, at the office of said Justice Barnard, No. 23 W^t Twenty-first 
Street, in the City of Xlw York, this 31st day of October, 1868," at 7 
o'clov-k in the evening." 

In compliance with the requirements of the writ, no time being 
•allowed for a return thereto and none heing made,, the men were forth- 
with taken by Detectives Irving and Coyle t^ Judge Barnard's resi- 
dence. A : riving there at about 9 o'clock, Coyle remained on the side- 
vv'alk with -he prisoners, while Irving went into the house where he 
f >und Mr. ilowe. who took from him the writ, endorsed thereon "The 
J risoners being eh urged with no olfence on the annexed return^ I order 
tiiem discharged, October 31st, 1868," and handed it to a servant girl 
who took it up stairs to Judge Barnard's room, and soon came down 
with the Judge's signature attached to it, obtained as she stated from 
the Judge, who had gone to hed. Thereupon the prisoners were dis- 
charged. 

It is worthy of note that no notice of the issue or hearing of the writ 
was served upon the District Attorney as the representative of ffee 
people, which notice so distinguished a Democrat as Judge McCunn 
has testiiied he thought a Judge " bound by law to give to the District 
Attorney of his county ; the statute requires it," and which the then 
District Attorney, A. Oakey Hall, has sworn, " should be 'preliininary 
to the hearing, and it is a misdemeanor for a judge to hear a writ with- 
out notice to the party interested." 

The arrest of these repeaters was serviceable in tliat it prevented 
them from continuing operations during the afternoon and evening, 
while the discharge was instructive in affording definite information as 
to the precise locality of " the office of said Justice Barnard, No. 23 West 
Twenty-first Street," where as we are informed in " The Ennine in 
the Ring," the judicial robes of this eminent and high minded magis- 
trate are at times " endued for the occasion when at his utmost alti- 
tudes," The prisonere in the custody of an officer were on the sidewalk^ 
their counsel and the officer served with the writ, were in the hallway^ 
the writ itself with no return thereon was in the hands of a servant girl^ 
and the Chief "Justice of our Supreme Court" was transacting chamber 
business in his hed. 

The result was, First : Discharge of the prisoners and some siocty 
fraudulent and illegal votes polled on the names by them rtgistered. 
jStCond : A feeling of security on the part of thousands of employed re- 
l^eaters whereby, to obtain for themselves tlie promised pecuniary or 
other reward, their exertions were redoubled to illegally swell the De- 
mocratic majority in the City. 

But lest it be charged that an extreme case has been instanced, let us 
examine another. 

During the sittings of the Congressional Committee in New York, in 
January last, an Attorney of the Supreme Court, who at the time of 
election was an Inspector in the 5th District of the 18th Ward, testified 
"before it, that very late in the evenings of the days for registration, 
there came to the Board of which he was a member, in groupa of four 




WILLIAM YAKLEY, ALIAS "REDDY THE BLACKS^IITII. 

Pickpocket, Thief and Democratic '' Kegulator-"' (See Appendix.) 



or five, as applicants for registration, a large number of young men of 
from 21 to 25 years of age. These groups were usually led by one 
Florence Scannell, an ex-member of the Common Council, and a 
somewhat notorious character. Each of these men being challenged, 
sworn and examined, stated that he resided at the Compton House, a 
combination of rum hole, restaurant and cheap lodging house on the 
corner of Third Avenue and Twenty-fourth Street, of which Fagin and 
Scannell, both of whom were Deputy Sheriffs, and the latter a brother 
of Florence, were the proprietors. Further questioning elicited from 
several the information that " they slept there (the Compton House) 
two or three nights out of the week, and the rest of the time slept 
with their mistresses." Deeming this matter worthy of investigation, 
Florence Scannell was brought before the Committee and sworn. 

Being examined, he admitted having employed some thirty men to 
register names, but stated that he could not tell where they registered 
for the reason that they had registered yro-w, 150 to 200 nanuii^ and from 
" almost every house in the distrwt.^^ That on the day of election he 
}iad engaged some twenty men who had voted on about one hundred o^ 
those registered names. Believing he was stating only so much of his 
operations as he chose and concealiTig the rest, the original registry 
book of his district was obtained, when the Compton House ah/^a was 
found to have 152 na?nes registered therefrom^ while the poll liook 
•showed that nhiety-four votes had been cast from that house, twentij- 
icden of ivhich were never registered. 

The registry book being exhibited to Scannell, and also to one Mc- 
■Glade, bar tender of the Compton House, the two swore that they only 
knew thirty-nine of the one hundred and seventy -nine names registered 
■and voted therefrom, and some of this small number were not residents 
of the house. 

Of the thirtv-nine known to them, but twenty-seven voted, and seven 
of these illegally — six not being registered. So that under Democratic 
manipulation there were registered from this single house omi hundred 
•and fourteen fraudulent naim^s and seventy four fraudulent and illegal 
'votss poUed. 

How an endeavor to so alter the present registry law as to render it 
easy in the future to discover, thwart and almost wholly prevent any 
similar attempt was opposed by the Democratic members of the last 
Legislature, and after the passage of the bill by the Republicans, was 
strangled by the veto of a Democratic Governor who held his seat 
solely by means of these and similar fraudulent votes will be seen 
hereafter. 

Yet still another instance, for the field is large and profitable. 

A young man, addicted for years to the dangerous yet fascinating 
and tashionable sin of gambling, but otherwise of good character, was 
-engaged during the latter part of October by Peter Norton, brother of 
the notorious Michael Norton, State Senator from the Fifth Senatorial 
District and Alderman from the Eighth Ward, to join a gang of 
repeaters operating in the Fourteenth, Eighth and Sixth Wards. 

The instructions given were " to register as often as possible on tlie 
two last registry days." Having served his country well and faithfully 
for some eiglit years in the marine corps and regular army, and being 
*^ inclined to the side of order and good government," our young friend 



10 

failed reporting to Xorton during the day of tbe30tli ofOctol^er. In the 
evening he repaired to the liquor store of Peter Mitchell, present Demo- 
cratic Member of Assembly, then a candidate, on the comer ofBleecker 
an d Greene Streets, where he found congregated some forty repeaters. 
Excusing himself for absence during tbe day, he was ordered to report 
tlie next morning at 7 o'clock, whereupon lie left and relati'd the facts 
to the Superintendent of Police and several prominent citizens. The 
result was the receipt from them of instructions to join the repeatei*s, and 
in the character of a detective learn all possible of their operations. 
Accordingly on the morning of the 31st he reported at Mitchell's, but 
found only one of the gang, David Sommers by name, present, who 
claimed to be Peter Norton's lieutenant. Tnking a drink with Som- 
mers who stated that Peter had been up all night with the bo}-s, and was 
then sleeping, the two visited Peter Burns at his ftahwn, No. 69 East 
Houston Street, who gave them each slips of paper bearing a name and 
residence written thereon. Under these names tliey regit^tored in the 
Second District of the Fourteenth Ward, Sommers swearing in his re- 
gistry. Shortly after three othere of the gang joined them, and the five 
registered in the Second and Third Districts of the Eighth Ward. At 
the latter place the party was still further augmented in number and 
visited the First District of the Eighth Ward where they registered as 
from 84 Greene Street, the residence of Peter Mitchell. Sommers and 
our detective then called at Peter Norton's, and arousing him, the three 
joined the others at Mitchell's saloon where they found Senator Norton 
and Mitchell.. Some 25 or 30 slips with names and residences on 
which to register were then furnished by the two Nortons and Mitch- 
ell, and the information imparted that the occupants of tile houses from 
which they were to register understood the matter, and would answer 
satisfactorily any inquiries which might be made by the police or others. 
The strength of the gang constantly increasing, they were then divided 
into pai'ties numbering from four to twelve each, and dismissed in dif- 
ferent directions. Attached to a party of five was our detective, and 
after registering in Yarick Street they returned to Mitchell's where 
Peter Norton transferred the detective to a party of twelve, bound for 
the Sixth Ward. Walking rapidly, this crowd soon arriv'^d at No, 44- 
Bowery, known as "Ciidd}'^s Hotel," where they found Edward Cuddy, 
present member of the Board of Aldermen from the Sixth Ward. This 
worthy at once produced a book containing some hundn-^ls of names 
and residences, and from behind his bar handed, or pa.-»-«3d over his 
shoulder to each man a small card or slip bearing a name and residence 
taken from his book. Thus supplied, the party left and re^n^^tered in the 
Ninth District of the Sixth Ward as from 60 and 70 Mott Street and 
62 Bayard Street, some being compelled to swear in their registry. This 
completed the day's work, and our detective returned to Mitchell's 
where he was directed by Peter Norton to call upon him for his reward,, 
and not fail to be on hand on the day of election. It may be added, 
for statemeats made by confederates to each other are good and admis- 
eible evidence, that it was stat'^"! to our detective that they had done 
better than is here set forth en the previous day, and since election 
several of them have boasted *.. registering and voting from twenty to 
twenty-fivt times each. All the facts just stated were fully estab- 
lished under oath by this amateur detective who produced before the 



Con<^res?ional Committee a.=; coroborativ^e evidence, original notes 
secretly made by him at tlie time of the occurrences and some of the 
identical slips furnished him. An examination of the original registers 
for the districts mentioned, not only sliowed every name given by him 
to be registered as he stated, thus completely confirming him. but also 
evidenced tlie fact that from every house of which this crowd of repeaters 
represented themselves residents, there was a large registration, while 
from inquiries at the several places and other proof it was established 
that such registration was in excess of the actual number of legal 
voters resident, from 6 to 27 names in the different houses. 

These are but samples of hundreds of instances which might be given. 
We could readily detail how men repeatedly registered in the same Elec- 
tion District with no other or further attempt at disguise than the 
changing of their hats, caps and coats on the pul)lic street, and almost 
within sight of the registrars : how in some districts an examination of 
the registry was made and tlie names of the pei-sons legally registered 
who had not voted were copied and passed to outside parties, where- 
upon repeaters assuming such names voted thereon ; and how inspec- 
tors, challengers and others who endeavored to prevent these and simi- 
lar scenes were threatened, assaulted and arrested ; but neither the fact 
that repeating was practiced by the Democratic party on a most 
gigantic scale, nor tho intricate, subtle or varied means eiTiployed to 
.accomplish its illegal purposes would be more clearly comprehended. 
The cases narratca must suffice. 

Yet, we cannot refrain from anticipating the question each reader 
will undoubtedly ask. Was there no repeating in the interests of the Re- 
publican party in the City of JS^ew York ? The answer is, that while 
there were doubtless individual instances, there w.is no attempt made in 
that direction, either organized and general or by any of its leaders or 
candidates so far as is known. And while the Congressional Committee, 
two of whom were Democrats — and one, the lion. M. C. Kerr, of In- 
diana, tlie candidate of his party fur the Speakership of the House of 
Representatives — was in being from the l-tth of December, 1S6S, to the 
4th of March, 1SG9, and held sessions in Xew York for one third of 
that time, it is a remirkable and honorable fact in the lano;uage of the 
Committee's supplemental report " thut there is no evuMnce of any 
Ichul that any repuhlican loas engaged in false reyist^rlng in the in- 
terest of the republican party., aixd lolthout false registering tJiere could 
he no repeating.''^ 



CHAPTER III. 



THE ISSUE AND USE OF FllACDULENT OEKTrFIOATES OF NATURAT TZATION. 

In treating of this subject, but two matters seem essentially worthy 
of consideration, viz : the extent of the issue, and the men and means 
employed in the work. And as Courts in a number of the river and 



12 

•central counties of tlie State were parties to this form of fraud to quite 
as 2;reat an extent comparatively as some of those in the City of New 
York, we propose in our examination to divide the subject, discussing 
iirst 

The Naturalization Frauds in New York City. 

That we may judp-e of the number of fraudulent certificates issued 
in the City of New York, let us glance for a moment at the statistics 
of former years and the preparations made for naturalization in 1868. 
Judge Daly of the Court of Common Pleas, in his exhaustive and able 
article upon naturalization in Vol. xii of the New American Cyclo- 
paedia, states tjiat in ten years from 1850 to 1 859 inclusive, there were 
naturalized in the City of New York over 60,000 aliens. 

For the eight years from 1860 to 1867, inclusive, the total number 
was 70,604. The total number of Naturalizations in New York City 
for each year from 1856 to 1867, inclusive — a period of twelve years, 
was : — 

Year. No. Year. No. 

1856, Presidential 16.403 1862... 2,414 

1857 !^,901 1863 2,633 

1858 . 6,769 1864, Presidential 12,171 

1859 7,636 1865 7,428 

1860, Presidential 13,556 1866... 13,023 

1861 . 3,903 1867 .15,476 

n total average of 9,207 per annum. This was the work of two Courts, 
x\z : the Superior and Court of Common Pleas. The Supreme Court 
in the First Judicial District had never to this time in the history of 
the State naturalized a person. Notwithstanding the fact that the 
yearly average of naturalizations had been but about 9,000 ; that the 
greatest number naturalized in a single year never reached 16,500 ; 
that three years had elapsed since the close of the war in which 35,927 
aliens had been made citizens, a yearly average of 11,975, or an excess 
of 3,000 per year above the annual average for twelve years ; that the 
addition of such excess to the diminished numbers naturalized in 1862, 
1863 and 1864 would preserve the ratio, and account for those who 
from fear of being drafted had refrained from applying during those 
years of the war; that the rebellion had reduced the alien population 
of New York City, many of whom enlisted, were killed, died from 
disease, or after the war found homes elsewhere ; and, finally, that the 
yearly average of emigration from and including 1847 to 1860 — a period 
of thirteen years — had been 197,435, while for the four years from 1860 
to 1863 inclusive — and none who arrived subsequently could be legally 
naturalized in 1868 — the yearly average of alien arrivals had been but 
100,962, or an annual loss of one-half, yet orders were early in Septem- 
ber passed along the Democratic line to prepare on a gigantic scale for 
the naturalization of aliens during the coming month. The Supreme 
■Court also determined for the hrst time to engage in the work of 
making citizens. In accordance with this known determination, tliere 
■were printed for the use of the Courts on the days below nam 'd the 
followinsr number of blanks : 



18 



Date. 
Oct. 



Superior Court. 
No, applications. No. rertiiir/itc^. 

10,000 

10,000 



20,000 



10,000 
10.000 





s 


upreme Got 


:kt 




Date. 


No. 


applications. 


No. eertifU-ntet. 


Sept 


.16 


10,0(10 




9,000 


a 


19 


10,000 






Oct. 


6 


25,000 




5,000 


li 


12 


5,000 




5,000 


a 


13 


10,000 






li 


15 






10,000 


u 


16 


5,000 






(( 


19 


5,000 






(( 


20 






10,000 


(( 


22 


5,000 







or a total of 30,000 applications and 30,000 certificates for tlie Superior 
Court, and 75,000 applications and 39,000 certificates for the amateur 
Court (Supreme). 

The Court of Common Pleas, which save for a year or two previous 
had done the lar<^er share of the work of naturalization, did but little 
in 1868, its total number for the year beins; 3,145, of which 1,615 were 
in October. Justice requires the further statement that there was no 
evidence whatever of any fraud in this Court, althoui!;h all its Judi^cs 
were elected as Democrats, while proof was abundant that the duty 
entrusted to it of making citizens of tlie United States was discharged 
througliout with marked propriety and dignity. 

In the Supreme and Superior Courts only were frauds proven. To 
what extent we will now consider. The follot\'ing table was sworn to 
as being the daily number of applicati(jns for naturalization on file in 
the Supreme Court Clerk's office for 1868. 



1868- 


-October 6 

October 7 


6 

8 


1868- 


— October 16 

October 17 

October 19 

October 20 ... 


721 

633 




October 8 

October 9 

October 10 

October 12 

October 13 

October 14 

October 15 


379 

668 

717 

723 

901 

523 

.... 857 


955 

944 




October 21 

October 22 

October 23 

Total 


773 

675 

587 




-.-.10,070 



But these applications do not show the number of naturalizations 
granted by this Court, although they sliould so do. They simply show 
that for 10,070 certificates issued there are a corresp(Uiding numl)er of 
papers purporting to be applications, on file. Let us examine a 
moment in detail. The 10,070 certilieates admittedly issued (there aro 
known to be 10,093 applications, pretended or otherwise, on file), is 
but 1,070 in excess of the number of blank certificates printed for use 
by this Court on the 16th of September — three weeks before it 
naturalized a man — and is 4,000 /g.y.<? than the number on liand on the 
6th day of October when it begun operations, although (25,000) twenf//- 
five tJioiisand additional were subsocpiently printed by order of the 
Clerk, and lOjOOO of tliese within forty-eiglit hours of the time when 
the Court ceased to naturalize. 

As Charles E. Loew, Clerk of the County and ex-officio Clerk of 
the Supreme Court, testified that these blanks were " never given out," 
and that certificates of naturalization were " to be giveii out onJ^y hy 



14 

the Clerk on the order of the Court^"^ the inquiry as to whether the re- 
in aining 28,930 blank certificates shown to be printed were in the custody 
of the Clerk of the Court to whom they were delivered was deemed 
mportant and pertinent. 

An actual count of the namber on hand was therefore required, 
when the Assistant Deputy Clerk who made the count certified tiiat 
1,862 only remained, leaving the large number of 27,068 blanks miss- 
ing and unaccounted foi* in any way. 

We find, then, an admitted issue by this Court of 10,070 certificates 
of naturalization in sixteen days, or 10,051: in fourteen days — work not 
really begiruiing until October 8th — a daily average of 718. Beyond 
this is a clearly proven, but on the part of tiie Court, a concealed, issue 
of what extent it is impossible to precisely state. Evidence abounds 
to sustain the position taken by the Congressional Committee that 
27,068, the whole number of missing blanks, is the correct amount. 

In the Superior Court a singular state of afi'airs was found to exist. 
Being required to furnish the committee witli the number of natural- 
izations in that Court in the year 1868, and the daily issue for the 
month of October, Owen E. AVcstlake, a clerk, on the 2Sth of Decem- 
ber, swore to the following statement : 

18j68— January 8-1 1 1S6S— Oc^tober 9th 1,760 

" February 100 '• October lOrh 1,653 

March 105 j '• October 12th 1,856 

•' October 13th 1,863 

■' October 14th 2,10d 

' October lotli 1,42') 

' October 16th 1,112 

' October 17th 840 

' October 19th 1,026 

' October 2(»th 1,001: 

' Oi-tobor 21st 861 

' October 22d 911 

' October 2:3a 1,024 

' November 41 

' December ^Al 



" Am-il 140 

'' May 108 

" June ...102 

« July 140 

" August... 195 

" September 632 

" October 1st 580 

" October 2d 745 

" October 3d 840 

" October 5th 1,425 

" October 6th 1,721 

" October 7th 1,630 

" October 8th 1,842 

a total of 27,897 for the year, or 26,226 in twenty days in the montli 
of October, a daily average of 1,311. On the 2d of January, 1869, 
Joseph Meeks, the Deputy Clerk, swore " that the figures of Westlake 
were derived from an actual count ;" and on the 14th of the same 
month oificially certified the total for the year 1868 to be as above 
stated, which certificate was presented the Committee, under oath, by 
Adam CTiIles])ie, assistant naturalization clerk. If evidence is worth 
anything, surely this should be sutficient to establish the facts te.-^tified 
to. The Committee having meanwhile appointed a clerk — an attorney 
of the Supreme Court — to count and examine the applications on file 
in the Clerk^s office i^>v the month of October, was not a little surprised 
to learn from him, under oath, on the 25th of January, 1869, that but 
about 18,000 papers had been produced for his inspection, and he was 
informed that these were all there were. Here was a discrepancy of 
eigJd thousand for a single month, and the loss appai'ently made since 



LO 



the number was so positively sworn to from " an actual count." Fear- 
in»g the result of this exposure, Adam Gillespie, aforementioned, and 
others, were hastened to Washington to explain away this startling ex- 
liibit. Quite naturally their statements then made, that tlie lirst ex- 
hibit submitted and so positively testified to was a mere estimate and 
not the " actual count" required and sworn to be, were far from satis- 
factory, as testimony obtained from other sources concerning the man- 
ner in which most of the naturalizations in this Court were made, 
strongly corroborated the accuracy of the original ligures. 

As then stated the daily naturalizations for tiie month of October 
were — 



1868— October 1 420 

" October 3 T23 

" October 3... 785 

" October 5 ..1,363 

" October 6 1,272 

■' October 7... 1,415 

" Octol)er 8 1,133 

'' October 9 ... 877 

" October 10 804 

" October 12 2,017 



1868— October 13 1,384 

'• October 14 ..1,56!) 

" October 15 934 

" October 16 581 

" Octoberl7-.- 418 

" October 19 709 

" October 20 517 

" October21 428 

" October 22 459 

" October 23 61S 



a total of 18,432, a daily average of 921, or 7,794 less than previously 
8Worn to, while the Committee's Clerk between the time of these two 
'• counts" by the Court officers could find but 17,915 applications, or 
8,311 less than appeared by tlie lirst exhibit of the Court Clerks, and 
517 less than was shown by the second. But supposing true this last 
" count" of the Court officials, the ad/nitted natural izatioais in the 
several Courts in jSTew York cit}' alone for the year 1808 were — 

Common Pleas 3,115 In October alone 1,645 

Superior Court -2'\103 " " 18,432 

Supreme " 10,()T0 " " 10,070 

or a total of 33,318, nearly four times the average of former years, and 
more than twice as maiiy as ever before, while two courts, in an average 
of eighteen days sittings each, in addition to discharging their ordinary 
duties, granted 28,502 certificates, or more tlian eighty-two per cent, 
of the whole yeaily number. Adding the 27,068 missing blanks as 
tlie concealed i^sue of the Supremo Court, we have a total naturaliza- 
tion for 1808 in New York city of 6(>,386, which the evidence taken, 
and much not obtained but readily to be had, shows to be the more 
accurate and probable amount. And even this, it sh(juld be remem- 
bered, is without taking into account the 8,311 additional certificates 
sworn and certifie<l to by three officers of the Sup.-rior Court as granted 
by that Court in October. 

Fortunately there is no rpiestion as to who were the leaders in this 
bold and illegal work, for pre-eminently at its head and front muet 
necessarily be the Judges who took part therein. In the Supreme 
Court no member of the bencli l)ut George G. Barnard naturalized a 
single individual. His position is consecpiently easily determined. In 
the Superior Court five Judges at times naturalized, viz. : John IE. 
3IcCunn, Samuel B. Gars'in, Samuel Jones, John M. Barbour and An- 
thony L. Robertson, now deceased. All the evidi nee agrees that far 



16 

the greater portion of the work was done by Judge MeCnnn, wliile 
the gentleman who examined nearl}^ 18,000 of the ap]>]ications on tile 
in that Conrt testified, " I shonld think about eiglit-ninths," or more, 
than (15,000) ^^€<?7fc thmi-sand, " bore his initials." We cheerfully add, 
that of all the Superior Court Judges he alone is impeached by the 
testimony taken. These two then, George G. Barnard of the Supreme^ 
and John H. McCunn of the Superior Court, are originally the guilty 
parties. The story is credited and credible, though from its nature- 
difficult to substantiate, that the exertions of both in this matter were 
demanded by Tammany as the price of renomination to their respective, 
positions. Certain it is that Judge Barnard was at the time a candid- 
ate of his party for re-election, while it is well understood that Judge 
McCunn, nominated to his present seat on the bench by Mozart Hall, 
18 pledged a renomination this fall by Tammany. 

The Supreme Court was for naturalization purposes open solely at 
night, generally from 7 to 10 o'clock, but occcasionally somewhat, 
later. Tlie Superior Court, save upon two or three occasions, was 
open for this work only during the day, while as a rule Judge McCunn 
naturalized but in the afternoon. In less than four hours in the 
Supreme Court an<l six in the Superior most of this illegal work wag 
done, certificates of naturalization being admittedly granted at a daily 
average of 71S in the former and 921 in the latter, while as many as- 
955 were confessedly issued upon one occasion in the Supreme in about 
four hours, and 2,017 in the Superior in a portion of one day and 
evening, mainly by Judge ^IcCunn. How strangely in view of these 
facts does it sound to read from a rej'tort made to the House of Repre- 
eentiitives in 1844, of the circumstances attending the impeachment 
and removal of Benjamin C. Elliot, Judge of the City Court of Lafay- 
ette, l)y the Senate of Ix)ui6iana sitting as a high Court of impeachment, 
that " it farther appeared that nearly four hundred of these certificates 
(of naturalization) wore issued in one day. It seems to your committee 
impossible that this could liave been legally done." If the granting of 
"nearly four hundred" certificates of naturalization in 1844 brought 
impeachment and removal upon the offending Judge, it is an easy 
matter to determine the least punishment demanded for those who in 
1868, in a few houri?, admittedly granted twice and tlirice — a.ye, nearly 
four times that number. As time i? nn important element in determin- 
ing the character of this work, it shuuld not be lightly passed over. 
We have said that in the Court of Common Pleas naturalization waa 
honestly conducted. Let us now Hv^certain the time required to make 
a citizen and the manner of procedure in that Court, that the con- 
trast between it and the Supreme and Superior may be more apparent.. 
Judge John R. Brady, who for thirteen years has served honorably and 
faithfully upon the Common Pleas' bench, has testified, " the process 
has been to have pju-ties appear before the Judge in open Court," and 
the time required to naturalize a man " depends very much upon the 
intelligence of the witness. Sometimes it has been done in from three 
to five minutes ; sometimes it has taken more ; sometimes I have lield 
c^es for reflection for half an hour, or an hour, or an hour and a half.'* 
Mr. Jarvis, Clerk of this Court, testifying on this subject, said, *' The 
action of tlie Court alon^. vyould ta'ke _prohaJ)ly about five minutes. 
There were many cases where I knew the Court to be twenty minutes 




JAMES MYERS, ALIAS MULLEN. 
Till Tapper and Si)ecia] Deputy Sheriff. (See Appendix.) 



17 

in the examination of a witnees, and then to reject the applicant." In 
response to the direct question as to why more nut nralizations were 
granted in the other Courts and less in liis in 1868, the same witness 
replied, "I cannot state any reason ; I may have an impression. I 
don't think we naturalized them rapidly enough.'''' At the rate stated 
from twelve to fifteen certificates were g;ranted per hour in the Common 
Pleas. Who can doubt the correctness of Mr. Jarvis' impression on 
reflecting that in the Supreme Court admittance was not only refused 
citizens, attorneys and reporters, but that when ])re8cnt they were 
at times forcibly ejected; that in the same Court the admitted natural- 
izations must at times have been granted at an average of more tha/n 
three j^er minute; and that Judge McCunn, of the Superior Court, 
has himself testified he could naturalize two persoiis a minute / while 
in ]>raetice he must have done even better than that ? The Congres- 
sional Committee, a majority of whom were lawyers, and some of 
whom had served upon the bench, thought as a rule " a Judge could 
not actually and properly naturalize over twelve in an hour" — thi\ 
averjige in the Court of Common Pleas. He who taking into con 
sideration these facts does not clearly comprehend why for the fir^- 
time the Supreme Court was compelled to take part in naturalization ^ 
who does not fully understand the extensive preparations early made 
by the Supreme and Superior Courts for this work ; and finally, who 
docs not in the subsequent illegal and fraudulent practices oi these 
Oourts perceive the strongest evidences of a preconceived plan and con- 
spiracy on the part of the Democracy to issue, circulate and employ 
for purposes of illegal registration and voting thousands of fraudulent 
certificates of naturalization, is either a knave or a fool. Such as he 
would not be convinced were "one to rise from the dead." Yet 
another fact, and one which conclusively establishes the fraudulent 
nature of a large number of the certificates admittedly granted, is the 
great proportion of " minor applications." By law if an alien arrives 
in this country before the age of eighteen he is entitled, if a resident 
for five years, to be naturalized upon reaching twenty-one, without 
having two years prior to application declared his " intentions." Of 
the 10,070 certificates admittedly issued by the Supreme Court, all but 
382, or more than ntnety-six per cent, were issued upon these " minor 
applications," while of the 18,000 papers examined in the Superior 
Court 14,000, or eighty per cent.., were of the same character. In the 
Court of Common Pleas about fifty per cent, only of those naturalized 
were "minors." The efficient aid which the use of these "minor 
applications" would render in dispensing with the production of a cer- 
tificate of previously declared intentions was never lost sight of by the 
conspirators, while the astounding number of hahy applicants seems ia 
no wise to have disturbed the equanimity of our immaculate, dis- 
interested and honest Judges — McCunn and Barnard. 

But the essential aid rendered by these Judges need not be farther 
detailed. It was mainly comprised in one or more of the foUowing^ 
criminal derelictions of duty : 

I. Hasty and incomplete examination of applicants and witnesses. 

II. Total neglect at times to examine the one class or the other. 



18 

III. Through iiegligence, imposition which might easily have been 
g;uarded against, or direct complicity, the issue of certificates 
m the names of persons who never appeared in CoiU't, applied 
therefor, produced a witness or took an oath. 
rV. Similar issue of certificatea to applicants, persons of assumed or 
fictitious names and others, upon the oath of residence and 
moral character of persons of assumed and fictitious names, or of 
known criminals and persons of immoral character. 
Y. Similar issue of certificates based upon " minor applications" 
when the persons to whom such certificates issued were known 
or could readily have been ascertained to be unentitled there- 
to on such applications. 
YI, Total neglect or refusal to commit known disreputable persons 
and others whose business it was for a pecuniary or other 
consideration to act as witnesses and who in such capacity 
repeatedly appeared before them. 
YII. The conducting of naturalization proceedings in a secret man- 
ner, by causing citizens and others to be denied admission to 
the Court-room, or ejected therefrom when oljserved. 
As auxiliaries in the plot of procuring and furnishing fraudulent 
certificates were numerous offices under the control of Tammany Hall, 
or its Committees, and the several Democratic Ward organizations. 
Also an improvised ofiice in the basement of the City Hall. In most 
if not in all these places applications were given out and filled up, pro- 
fessional witnesses employed or permitted, and illegal and fraudulent 
certificates procured from the Courts and distributed, given away or 
sold. Some of the Democratic candidates and many then ofiico 
holders, either secretly or openly countenanced and aided these «>!• siini- 
lai* establishments or engaged in outside operations of a like cliaracter 
on their own responsibility. Without attempting to detail the many 
methods adopted to secure naturalization certificates on the part of 
speculators, politicians, thieves and re}X)aters, we shall instance a case 
or two illustrative of hundreds which might be recited, and in the ap- 
pendix name the more prominent characters with a statement of their 
efforts. 

A young man, whom for obvious reasons we shall designate as 
Henry, formerly an attache of the city preas, being out of employment 
during the month of September and observing signs of activity in the 
neighborhood of the City Hall, determined to engage for himself in the 
work of procuring naturalization certificates. llaving a large ac- 
quaintance in the 20th Ward, he made arrangements that the names 
of pei-sons for whom certificates were desired should be left at a 
liquor store in 32d Street. Establishing himself at a lager beer saloon 
in Chatham Street, in close proximity to the Courts, with a stock in 
trade consisting of an ink bottle, a few pens and a number of blank ap- 
plications obtained from the offices of the County Clerk and Democra- 
tic Committee, this was briefly his mode of doing business. 

Iveceiving each night at his up town headquarters such names as had 
been left for him diu-ing the day, he would on the following morning fill 
up liis blank ap])lications, sign them as witness with his own or a ficti- 
tious or assumed name, or procure others to bo sign, and when neces- 
eary, would in a similar manner sign both as applicant and witness. 



19 

Durinc^ the day or eveninpj he would present these papers to tlie Courts, 
sometimes with and sometimes without the company of the applicant. 
In this manner appearing on occasions as witness, at other times as ap- 
plicant, and when necessary, as both applicant and witness, Henry has 
testified he procured 7nore than mx hundred cer t^ficates. These he 
fiimished to different parties, receiving for his services from one to five 
dollars from each. 

It may be added that Henry has further testified to seeing "as many 
as one hundred" men " called up by Judge Barnard," and sworn in a 
batch, while other witnesses swore before the Congressional Committee 
to the same effect, one stating that he saw oaths administered by Judge 
Barnard to l>atcliesof men numbering "from one hundred to abr.ut two 
hundred, and I remember one occasion when I counted over one iiundred 
and eighty in a bati'h. There would be four or five batcher, varying 
from one hundred and ten to two hundred in number, averaging about 
one hundred and forty or one hundred and fifty, got throtiiih by Judge 
JBarnard in each hour^'* 

A man somewhat actively connected with the Democratic party and 
for years an office holder under Democratic Judges, through a simple 
desire to do his best to swell the Democratic vote, pro-jv.vcd the assist- 
ance of two young friends and together the trio prepan d aid filled up 
mainly with fictitious or assumed names, some seventy-five ;)pi)lieations. 
These were handed to John B. McKean, Clerk in -liidge Barnard's 
Court, on two occasions and certificates in the nanir.N-; of such parties 
received on the following days, no person having ir/'pearcd in Court 
therefor, or been sworn either as applicant or witi'cso. Most of these 
papers were subsequently furnished repeaters and others to aid them in 
registering and voting. The writer sometime since had placed in his 
hands several of these particular certificates, together with a number of 
others issued by the Supreme and Superior Courts in the va'.ious modes 
related herein. In instances he has the affidavits of those whose names 
they bear, detailing the facts relative to their obtaining posfe^fiion thereof. 

A single other fact and we pass to the consideration of affairs in the 
State. It was sworn to before the Congressional Committee, that con- 
tracts were made by two brothers, whose sole business was appearing 
as professional witnesses, for the delivery of certili cat es in Kings and Or- 
ange Counties, N. Y., and the States of Coniiccricut and New Jersey, 
for fifty cents each. Some of these certificates were obtained by em- 
ploying eight or ten men who under assumed names repeatedly appeared 
in court and swore themselves through. Otiiers v/ere received direct 
from the hands of the court clerk, no one a])neariiig cither as applicant 
or witness. Under these circumstances it l>ehooves all in the Counties 
and States Tiaju-d (und elsev/here, for the writer believes many were 
Bent to Peniisylvania), who v»-ould protect the purity of the ballot box, 
to closely scan in the future all certificates presented and purporting 
to have been issued by these Courts in 18GS. Ko one should be allow- 
ed to register or vote thereon without at least being challenged, sworn 
and thoroughly examined. 

Naturalization Frauds in the State outside of N&w York City. 

The ( 'ornmittee, while not having time to make an extended tour 
through tho State, visited every coimty where they had information 



20 

naturalization frauds had been perpetrated. These embraced "West- 
chester, Orange, Dutchess, Kensselaer, Livingston and Monroe. In all 
of these gross frauds were proven but generally of a character diiferent 
from those committed in New York City. In almost every case the 
certificates issued in these counties, amounting in the aggregate to 
about six thousand are totally null and void, having been issued without 
autliority or warrant of law in any respect. As a rule no court was 
held, and no Judge was present. Tlie pretended natralizations were 
made by County Clerks, their assistants, deputies, and in instances, acting 
assistants. Not a single certificate so granted is worth the paper it is 
written iipon, and no person should be allowed to register or vote there- 
on. In Westchester, Orange and Dutchess, a large number of certifi- 
cates were found, purporting to have been obtained from the Supreme 
and Superior Courts of New York City. In the main these were sent 
to some prominent democrat who delivered them to the parties whose 
names they bore or placed them where they could be readily obtained 
by such persons, v ery few of those who thus received certificates ap- 
plied therefor, appeared in court or were sworn. 

The great length of this chapter precludes any further or more 
elaborate statement, while the points given, if carefully noted, may 
prove of service in future elections. A single copy of the evidence 
taken by the Committee, can at least, be obtained by some wide-awake 
and energetic citizen, from his member of Congress, the details and 
extent of the frauds learned therefrom, and a plan devised to prevent 
tlie injurious use of these certificates. 

But our history would be incomplete were we to omit to state the 
Btricking fact that in every county where frauds in naturalization were 
found to have prevailed, the Judges and County Clerks or those who 
granted the certificates were Democrats. Not a single illegal or frau- 
dulent certificate was proven to have been issued in a county where the 
Judges and Clerks were Republicans or by an oflicer of that political 
faith. The writer has no comments to make. 

The facts are stated, the record is made and the truth alone has been 
written. The reader must draw his own conclusions, and in the future 
when called upon to exercise the right of sulierage, let him with the 
light before him act conscientiously upon his own convictions of right, 
and justice, and his duty to himself and his country. 



OHAPTEE lY. 



CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE FUTURE AIMD REMEDIES PROPOSED, 

No candid reader of the foregoing cha]>ters can fail to comprehend 
that unless measures of the most positive character be taken to prevent 
in the future a repetition of scenes so disgraceful, illegal and criminal, as 
are there recited, the days of a Republican form of government in our 
country are already numbered. Based as our government is upon the 
fandaniental idea of popular suffrage and the rule of majorities, if a 



21 

few men, or a party, with the intent to defeat and subvert the will of 
tlie people and ai>;grandize office and power to themselves, can secretly 
concoct, boldly plan, and successfully execute on the grandest scale 
the most dangerous and criminal schemes of fraud ; can escape all pun- 
ishment for their offences, and whenever, and as often as the occasion 
shall in their opinion seem to demand it, can perpetrate a;iew their 
nefarious operations with the aid derivable from tlr,.! fraudulent instru- 
ments previously obtained, tlien, indeed, are American in.-stitutions a 
failure, and revolution, anarchy and ruin sure to follow. 

We have no desire to be considered an alarmist. But no ;fine man, 
in view of what has been shown to have transpired in 'New Tork, and 
with the knowledge that courts in California and Pennsylvania also 
engaged in issuing fraudulent certificates of naturalization tu no i;icon- 
eiderablc extent, can doubt that the effort was seriously made by or 
on behalf of the Democratic party to carry the last Presidential election 
by fraud. 

And if the certificates so issued cannot, or are not to be treated as 
other than legal and valid, what is to prevent in the future one or 
more courts in each State, or county if deemed necessary, engaging in 
similar attempts? Or again, if two courts in New York can, in an 
average period of less than three weeks, issue some 60,<)()0 certiticatci 
of citizenship upon which votes may be cast, what is to hinder tliose 
courts in a period of a few short montlis from granting suc^h a number 
of naturalizations as would make the attempt to elect national ulheera 
of a political faith other than Democratic as futile and useless as it now 
is in the metropolis of the nation to endeavor to place a Pcpublican in 
the Mayor's chair? 

Let none be deceived by the thought that such certificates could 
not be used on the day of election. From 1845 to 1865 the 
average per centum of votes cast in the State of New York, 
as compared with the actual number of voters, was less than 
77 per cent. The average in Presidential years, from 1848 to 
1861: inclusive, was 87.19 per cent. In 1868 this average in the State, 
owing to frauds, was ninety-two {^'2) per cent., while in the city of New 
York the per centage was one hundred and eight (108). In other 
words, the number of votes cast in the city of New York at the Presi- 
dential election of 1868 was, as compared with the actual numl>er of 
voters therein, more than twenty per cent, in excess of the average in 
the State at any previous Presidential election, sixteen per cent, more 
than the average in the State at the same election — although, as a rule, 
more votes proportionately are polled in the country than in the city — 
and eight per cent, more than the whole nuinher of voters in the city^ 
supposing every such person to have voted.* 

The frauds we have shown lost the Republican party New York and 
New Jersey with their forty electoral votes, nearly one seventh of the 
whole number of the electoral college and one-half of the official 
strength of the Democracy in that body. What then is to be done? 
It is idle to talk of punishing repeaters and others when Judges of our 
highest courts are themselves the most wilful and flagrant violators of 
the law. Not a man hiis been pla(^cd on trial in New York city by the 
State officials for a violation of the election laws at the election of 1868, 

* Ciilculations based upon census of 1865. 



22 

though hundreds of Bucli cri ninals are well known to the authorities. 
But this is the rule, thorouglily estaljlished and well understood, with 
hardly an exception knov.n. The probabilities of conviction or punish- 
ment we are wholly relieved from considering. Indeed, a Grand Jury 
maiuiy composed of pro: I'nent Tammany politicians, evidently selected 
for tiie purpose, and whu-h assembled shortly after the election, with 
the cry of frauds on the elective franchise ringing m their ears upon 
every side, could find nothing in that direction worthy of injuiry, but 
devoted their time to a Paul Pry endeavor to ascertain what, if any 
amounts of money Republicans had contributed towards the expenses 
cf the car,,- i/.5. And when, as has been testified to by a gentleman 
summoned bufore them, the direct offer to furnish proof of frauds in 
the election was made them by him, one of the jurymen " re- 
plied that I (lie) was not called for that purpose : that if they needed 
me (liim) they would let me (him) know." The advantages and privi- 
leges enjoyed by, and the protection afforded to the adherents of Tam- 
many, Avho for the benefit of the Democratic party engage in any form 
of illegal work which depraved ingenuity can devise, or wicked and 
abandoned characters perpetrate, could not be more forcibly shown. 
But one remedy remains — legislation. Congress can and must enact 
such laws as will prevent the recurrence of extensive frauds in repeat- 
ing canvassing, etc., at future elections for President and Members of 
Congress. The present naturalization laws, embraced as they are in a 
number of statutes, should be repealed, and a general act, with every 
section carefully considered and explicitly expressed, should be passed. 
But nowhere is this more fully appreciated than at "Washington. The 
onlv troublesome question has been as to what courts and officers 
shall exercise the power of making citizens. Probably not less than 
twenty bills on the subject of naturalization were introduced in the two 
houses at the last Session of the Fortieth Congress. That the matter 
was not acted upon at that time was solely because it was thought the 
wisest and safest course to await the report of the Committee investi- 
gating the frauds in New York. When that was received, as stated in 
the preface, no time remained. There will be, however, no unneces- 
sary delay at the coming session, and one of the plans below mentioned 
will certainly be adopted. 

I. The power to naturalize will be confined to the Circuit Court and 
District Courts of the United States, and the highest court of record in 
each State, or 

II. Such power will be conferred only upon the United States Courts, 
Commissioners in Bankruptcy, and where necessary officers to be ap- 
pointed by the President, or Cliicf Justice of the Supreme Court of 
the United States, to hold office during life or good behavior, and be 
known as Commissioners of Naturalization. 

In either case the illegal action of judges, officers and clerks will be 
more closely guarded against than heretofore, and all derelictions of 
duty will be made punishable in the United States Courts. In the 
opinion of the writer the second method would be _ preferable, 
and the only obiection which has ever, so far as his information 
extends, been maie thereto, viz. : that it creates new officers,^ should 
weigh but little against the advantages and results derivable from its 
adoption. It is known to more nearly meet the views of the membera 



23 

of Congress from the Eastern antl Middle States than any other. As 
oriijinally ]M-o]">oscd the niea-^iire restricted tlie right to naturalize to the 
United States Courts and the Commissioners in Bankruptcy. In this 
shai^e the Southern and AVestem nierahcrs were strongly opposed 
thereto, such courts and officers being less numerous in their section 
of country than with us. The addition of the section providing for 
the appointment of Commissioners of Naturalization, who should hold 
couft for the purpose of naturalizing in each county in their districts 
in each month, obviated this otherwise serious objection. 

Among other measures tending to prevent and punish frauds upon 
the elective franchise which will be strongly urged, are bills 
drawn by the lion. Wm. Lawrence, of Ohio, (Jhairman of the Com- 
mittee which investigated the New York frauds, providing methods 
of punishing repeating, false registering, illegal voting, and fraudulent 
canvassing at elections for President and Members of Congress ; requir- 
ing Congressional Elections to be held on the same day throughout the 
Union ; and providing measures whereby a Presidential election may 
be contested. Thus much we are promised from the National legisla- 
lature. 

Let ns now consider what, if anything, has been done or remains to 
be done by the State of New York. The last Legislature passed and 
the Governor signed a bill affixing penalties for any attempt to register 
or vote upon naturalization certilicates known to be illegally issued or 
fraudulently procured. Beyond this the State could not go so far as 
preventing the future use of such certificates is concerned. 

A bill to provide and punish frauds in canvassing was unfortunately 
not passed. The fact may be partially attributed to the resignation of 
the Hon. J. C. Bancroft Duvis — now Assistant Secretary of State at 
Washington — who had the bill in charge. This bill should receive 
early attention from the next Legislature. 

But the most important measure remains to be considered. Early 
in April, 1869, the attorneys who had represented the Election 
Committees of the Union League Club of New York in the Congres- 
sional investigation, and whose attention had been specially directed to 
every detail of the frauds, reported that if a few simple yet important 
amendments were made to the existing registry laws the opportunities 
for illegal conduct and action would be greatly lessened. 

They were instructed at once to prepare and submit a bill embodying 
the proposed changes, to have it speedily presented in both branches of 
the State Legislature, and to urge its passage. 

Acting under such orders a bill was drawn, and on the 10th of April 
introduced in the Senate by the Hon. A. W. Palmer, and on the 16th 
of the same month ofiered in the Assembly by the Hon. N. B. La Ban. 

By hard work this bill wa« got through the latter body on the 4th 
of May, and passed the Senate two days later, and within a few 
hours of the final adjournment of the Legislature. Every Democrat in 
both houses strenuously opposed it for no a})parent reason, save that it 
was what it purported to be, a bill " to ascertain by proper proofs tho 
citizens who shall be entitled to the right of sufirage." By the State 
Constitution, all bills which having passed the Legislature shall not be 
returned by the Governor within ten days after jn-esentation, become 
laws without his signature, unless the Legislature by adjourning shall 



24 

have prevented snch return : in sucli case they are dead. As the 
Legislature adjourned so soon after the passage of the act under dis- 
cussion, it was feared by the advocates of the measure that the Gov- 
ernor, who it was never supposed would sign the bill, would carefully 
refrain from making public his objections thereto. 

Most happily were they disappointed. On the 16th of May, Gov- 
ernor Hoffman sent the bill to the office of the Secretary of State 
without his signature, and with a singular lack of political sagacity ac- 
companied the same with the following statement of his reasons for 
disapproving the measure. 

In my annual mossa^^e I took the ground that " there should be one Registry law 
for the whole State, imposing equal conditions and restrictions everywhere, ar.d it should 
be the aim thereof to secure to every citizen his right of suffrage free from intimidation, 
corruption, or onerous exactions." 

This bill not only makes regulations for the cities «"f New York and Brooklyn, 
differing from those which it applies to the other parts of the State, but it cuntains pro- 
visions likely to deprive honest voters of their rights, and to impede the free exercise of 
the suffrage. 

Section 3 of the original Registry law, as amended by chapter 812 of tho laws of 1866, 
provides that the meeting of the iLspectors for final revision of the registry lists shall bo 
held on Friday preced ng the election, and that they shall, " on that day add to said 
lists the name of any vuter who would on the first Tuesday of November be entitled to 
vote." 

Section 3 of this bill abolishes the Friday meeting, and substitutes another day as 
the day of final revision, and does not re-ennact, as applies Me to the substituted day, or 
any other, this provision for adding the names of those who, not then entitled to vote, 
would nevertheless be so entitled on the day of election, by having meantime come of 
age. The law as it would stand, if this bill were approved, would exclude this class of 
personB from a constitutional right 

Section 4 of the bill provides that if one inspector choose not to declare a man's name 
to be on the list, his voice shall not lie received, or, if received by tlie Board of Inspect- 
ors, such vote shall not be counted in any subsequent " legislative or judicial scrutiny" 
of the election. The bill provides only that a special list bo kept of the persons whose 
votes shall be received under such circumstances, but it is obvious that to make the 
the provision that the vote shall not be afterward counted effectual, not only the 
voter but his ballot must be identified. 

This could only be done by marking the ballot, and although tlie law do(^s not 
authorize this to be done, yet the practice of doing so would be apt to grow up. To do 
this would violate the secrecy of the ballot. As the existing election law requires 
that all ballots for any officer by whomsoever cast, shall be deposited in the one box 
provided for such ballots, it is plain tliere is no other way of carrying the provision 
into effect, except by marking the ballot or compelling the voter, in the subsequent 
scrutiny to reveal how he voted. Both these :.iethods would be in violation of every 
elector's right to vote by secret ballot. John T. Hoffman. 

With the Governor's objections before us, let us examine the provi- 
sions of the bill and review the statements of the veto. 

In considering the bill we shall note the changes which it would 
have made in the existing laws and the occasion tlierefor. The 
first section simply substituted Tuesday four weeks for Tuesday three 
weeks before the day of election as the time for the first meeting 
of the Boards of Kegistry. The second section pr-.»vided a new method 
of registering which, while simple and easy of execution, could but 
prove of incalculable benefit in the prevention of fraud. Under the 
existing law the inspectors register the names of the voters alphabeti- 
cally, according to their resi)ective surnames, so as to sliow in one col- 
umn the names in full, and in another column the residences. By the 
plan pro])osecl, the names of the voters in each house would be regis- 
tered under the number of the house and street in which they reside. 



25 

As now conducted, it is ovideiit tliat it is hoyond the power of the 
inspector, without a long and tedious searcli tlirouLdi every letter of the 
alphabet and on every page of his register, to ascertain* who or what 
number of persons have registered from any given honsie. Yet tliis is 
information he should be able to obtain at a glance. The election dis- 
tricts in New York city seldom, if ever, exceed three or four blocks in 
extent — some are but two — and there is rarely a district of which at 
least one of the inspectors is not a resident, or personally acquainted 
with most of the legal voters ; nevertheless, the fact is notorious that 
from the very necessities of the case and the occasion, men are often 
times illegally registered, frequently a hirge number, from the resi- 
deuces of persons well known to the inspectors, whose attention is first 
drawn to the fact after the close of registration, when the evil is done 
and the remedy substantially gone. If, however, the mode suggested 
had been adopted, the moment an address was given, as the inspectors 
turned to place on the registry the electors name, the house by street 
and number would he brought prominently to the attention of at least 
some one of the Board, who would remember its precise locality, who 
owned, who resided there, and whether it was a ]»rivate residence, 
boarding house, hotel or tenement. In short, an o]/portunity for the 
detection of fraud would be presented, Vv'hioh under the present law 
does not exist. 

The third section provided that registration should close on the 
second Monday preceding the day of the general election. This would 
allow six working days to intervene, whereas under the existing law 
there is but one. Thepistice and propriety of this change must be evi- 
dent to all when it is remembered that in most of the cities of our State, 
especially in New York where were registered last fall over one hun- 
dred and seventy thousand names, nearly one-half of the entire registry 
is made up on the last day or days, while under the existing law no 
opportunity is afforded for scrutinizing and vcrifving the lists, canvas- 
sing the several districts, prepai'ing cluillongc books, and otherwise en- 
deavoring to secure a fair and honest ex])rossion of the public will, pre- 
vent the polling of illegal votes, and provide for the arrest of those who 
would violate the laws and usurp or destroy the rights and liberties of 
the people. Bad and designing men have simply to refrain from regis- 
tering until late in the afternoon or evening of the Saturday preceding 
the day of election (Tuesday) when within sixty hours thereafter — forty 
of which are either sacred to religion or devoted to rest — they are able 
to vote without fear of detection, and against the will of the lawful 
electors to place in positions of honor, trust and profit, executive, legis- 
lative and judicial olHcers. 

The niore iin]iortant features of the fourth section provided that two 
inspectors of diilerent political faith, should each have sole charge of 
the registry on the day of election, for the purpose of checking the 
names of those who voted, and that a uniform mark should be used as 
such check. Also prohibited the receiving of any vote until the said 
two inspectors should have found and declared the elector's name to be 
on the register. The objects aimed at by these provisions were all 
attempted to be covered by section six of the act of 1865, but the more 
thorough detail of this bill au'l the addition of a clause requiring any 
violation thereof to bo noted iu writing in the inspectors' books, and 



26 

making sncli violation a misdemeanor piinishahle hj heavy fine or long 
imprisonment, or both, would, it M-as believed, secure a more perfect 
compliance with the law on the part of its Oihcei"s. It is well known that 
a large number of votes have been received at every election without 
time being allowed the single inspector, who, under the present law, is 
placed in charge of the check copy of the register, to ascertain if the 
parties offering to vote were registered, while it is equally notorious 
that hundreds of votes were polled in the city of Kew 1 ork at the elec- 
tion last November — and this must have been with the aid and conni- 
vance of said check inspector — who were n^ver registered. 

By the change proposed no OTie inspector or clerk could connive at 
the commission of fraud so deliberate and destructive as this, and the 
lionor of the State as well as the general welfare would seem to demand 
that the opportunity should not be afforded. It will be observed, that, 
by the system of checking proposed, the check registers would show not 
only the number registered but the number of votes polled and the 
names of the voters, thus uniting in one book a registry and poll 
list, and affording a means of detecting fraud on the part of poll 
■clerks or canvassers. To illustrate ; it was testified to before the 
Congressional Committee that at the November election in the 
tliird district of the Fourth Ward of New York, during the absence of 
one of the poll clerks, his associate copied fom the register list in the 
hands of an inspector eighty-live (85) names vv'hich he added to both of 
the poll lists without the knowledge of the other clerk. When the 
canvassers took possession this number of votes was dro]iped among the 
ballots as they were turned from the boxes upon the table and counted 
in the return made, yet under the existing law no means are provided 
for the detection of so skillful a fraud. 

The fifth and last section provided for the inspection of all registers 
and poll lists without charge, by any elector. This is substantially the 
present law, the amendment being merely adding the poll lists not now 
open to examination. 

Let us now examine the Governor's objections to this seemingly just 
and necessary bill. They may be briefly stated : 

I. Because the bill made " regulations for the cities of New York 
and Brooklyn, differing from those which it applied to the other parts 
of the State." _ 

II. Because it contained " provisions likely to deprive honest voters 
of their rights, and to impede the free exercise of the sufirage." 

There is a reference by the Governor to a portion of his Annual Mes- 
sage, in which he advocated a registry law for the whole State, but it is 
evidently not spoken of as a reason for declining to sign this bill, so 
that the two heads given cover his objections. The first is a statement 
of fact. The second of opinion solely. Tlie former is true ; the latter, 
as we shall show, is without foundation. But while admitting the 
charge of differing regulations for the Cities of New York and Brooklyn 
• — and such differences have always existed, and must necessarily con- 
tinue to exist — we are at a loss to know which of such differences the 
Governor disapproved of, for he utterly fails to designate it. Possibly 
all were distasteful, and so his language would imply, yet it is difficult 
to S3 why he sh ould disapprove of an additional day being allowed 
Tesidents of New York and Brooklyn in which to register, or object to 
tlie Boards of Registry in those cities being compelled to liold sessions 



27 

an hour earlier and two hours later than in tlie other portions of the 
State, Nor does it seem po^^sible that he could liave objected to a 
fiingle additional copy of tlie reijistry bcinf;^ made in the City of New 
York, for the purpose of being filed in the office of the Bnreau of Elec- 
tions, or the recpnrement that the mark which inspectors must make in 
their check registers opposite the name of every person voting, should 
in New York and Brooklyn be similar to a letter V. 

Indeed, we are confident no one will for a moment pretend to believe 
that the Chief Magistrate of the State of New York refused to sign 
this bill in consequence of these differences- Yet every provision 
making regulations for the cities of New York and Brookljm differino- 
from those applicable to the remainder of the State M'hich are not spe- 
cially included by the Governor as falling under his second objection 
has been mentioned save one. 

The exception consists in tlie requirement that in every district in 
New York and Brooklyn, two inspectors, one of each political f^iith, 
shall each have on the day of election the sole charge of a copy of the 
registry for the purpose of checking the names of such persons as vote. 
]No change in this respect was macle in the remaining districts of the 
State, the existing law directing one inspector to keep such copy, but 
not preventing two from so doing if they chose. It would hardly seem 
that this simple provision could have caused the Governor to withhold 
his signature, but doubtless it did, and a reason for such belief can be 
readily given. Prior to the year 18G8, acting under the existing law, 
tlie Democratic Board of Supervisors of Kings County, who had the 
appointment of all election officei's, had uniformly followed the prac- 
tice of the Republican Board of Police Commissioners in New York, 
and divided such appointments equally between the two political 
parties. At the election in 18G8, when Hoffman was the candidate of liis 
party for Governor, the Democratic majority in this Board of Supervisors, 
acting if we may judge from its proceedings under a preconceived and 
fixed plan, held a quasi secret session, and appointed the election offi- 
cers. Their selections being made known, it was found that with 
hardly an exception, every inspector of registry and elections was a 
Democrat. The same condition of affairs would have existed in New 
York had the Democracy had a majority of the Board of Police Com- 
missioners. TJie section of the bill last noticed, in providing for the 
checking of the registry by two inspectors, and requiring each to be of 
different political faith, would have prevented the repetition in the 
future of any such proceeding, and always secured the minority one 
out of the four inspectors. 

The honest and fair minded of all parties will not only believe the 
provision eminently wise and proper, but somewhat less than just. 
The Governor, grateful to his party for their conduct and course, could 
only regard it as an objection to the bill and a hindrance to future pM*- 
tisan action on behalf of himself and his political friends. 

But we pass to the consideration of the second and last objection. 
The bill, says the Governor, "contains provisions likely to deprive hon- 
est voters of their right, and to impede the free exercise of the suffrage." 
Fortunately, these provisions are designated by the Governor, and his 
views thereof expressed at length, wherefore we may examine them both' 
and see not only if the fact be so, but if his arguments are correct Ha 



28 

first says that by chapter 812 of the hxws of ISGG, the Friday preceed- 
ing the election was designated for the meeting of the inspectors to 
finally revise the registry lists, and that said inspectors were by that law 
required " on that day to add to said lists the name of any voter who would 
on the first Tuesday of November be entitled to vote." That the words 
are correctly quoted by the Governor no one will dispute. He adds that 
section 3 of the bill under discussion amends so much of chapter 812 as 
fi:xes the Friday before election for final revision by substituting the 
" Tuesday, one week preceding the day of the general election" as the 
time for such revision. This is true, and the Governor makes no ob- 
jection to the change. Proceeding, he says tliis bill " does not re-enact 
as applicable to the substituted day, or any other, this provision for ad- 
ding the names of those who not then entitled to vote, would, neverthe- 
less, be so entitled on the day of election by having meantime come of 
age." Again correct. But adds the Governor : '' the law as it would 
stand, if this bill were approved, would exclude this class of persons 
from a constitutional right." Here we beg leave to differ with our 
Chief Magistrate. Only so much of the law of 1866 would have been 
changed by this bill as was expressly amejided. All that was not 
altered would have remained in force. Now, as this bill only changed 
"the Friday preceding the election," as the day of final revision, to the 
" Tuesday, one week before the election," the remainder of the section 
providing for the registration of the class referred to by the Governor 
would have remained as operative as before. It is painfid to think 
that the Governor allowed his party zeal to so affect both his 
mind and his official action as to cause him to wliolly overlook 
80 apparent a fact. But again. The law of 1866 seems to have 
been worded with the very change proposed in tliis bill in view. 
After fixing a day for the revision of the registry, it reatls : 
" And they (the inspectors) shall then revise the said lists and sludl 
on tJiat day add the names of those who would be legal voters on 
the day of election." Whether the words " tlien" and '' that day" refer 
only to the day named, " Friday," or are to be considered more general 
and to mean tJie day of revision, may be somewhar questioned. 
The writer believes the latter is the true application. But --rant that the 
Governor's assumption is correct, and the Friday before ilie election is 
the day indicated. Immediately following in the same so- tion we read: 
"But in making such addition on that da}^, (Friday the (Governor says, 
and for argument's sake we admit it,) or any prior day,'' ilie inspectors 
shall conform to the requirements of the other provision^^ wf the registry 
laws prescribing their duties. If the interpretation of tli3 Chief Magis- 
trate is correct, we should be pleased to know what the './ords " or any 
prior day v/ere inserted for." 

Do they not clearly imply that another day prior to Friday preced- 
ing the election, may be named for the revision of the list, and that 
*' then," and " on " that day — the day of revision — the names of certain 
persons shall be added ? We so think, and with the knowledge that the 
bill objected to by the Governor designated a " prior day" for such revi- 
sion, and the well known rule of law and parliamentary usage that 
whatever of a law is not repealed by a subsequent act remains alive 
and of legal efi'ect, it is exceedingly diflicult to believe the class of per- 
sons spoken of by the Governor would or could be excluded " fi-om a 
constitutional right." 



29 

The next provision, whicli the Governor thinks " likely to impede the 
free exercise of the suffracje " is contained in section four of this bill. He 
states it as follows : " That if one inspector choose not to declare a 
man's name to be on the list, his vote shall not be received, or if received 
by the Board of inspectors, such vote shall not be counted in any sub- 
Bequcnt legislative or judicial scrutiny of the election." The Governor 
is here a little unfortunate in his lano;ua<^e. AVhat the section under 
discussion did require may be learned by referrini^ back to the foot of 
pat^e 25, where it is fully set forth. The existing law declares, " Nor shall 
the name of any person be ])laced or retained on such register without 
the coicurrence of three of the four inspectors." It also provides that no 
vote shall be received save from a person found to be ])reviously registered, 
wherefore it follows that no person can vote unless three of the inspectors 
consent thereto. As well might the Governor say that under that law 
"the free exercise of the suffrage " is impeded, because if two inspec- 
tors choose not to place a man's name on the list, his vote can wot be 
received. Yet no difficulty was found in 1868 in registering 170,222 
names, and polling 150,060 votes in New York city. The necessity for 
the objectionable provision has been fully shown, and it is only 
needed to direct attention to the heavy penalties attached to the refu- 
sal or neglect of any officer of election to properly discharge his duties, 
and which were never before a part of any registry act, for all to under- 
stand how trifling and untenable is the Governor's position. To that 
portion of the section requiring a list to be kept of all votes received 
contrary to the provisions of the bill, and forbidding that any such 
voces should be counted ia any "legislative or judicial scrutiny," the 
Governor also objects, and quite naturally. For M'hile tlie existing and 
all prior laws have contained in the very words of this bill the prohibi- 
tory portion of the clause, the requiring of a list of such illegal votes to 
be kept, would greatly aid a contestant who believed himself wrong- 
fully kept from his rights, and prove beneficial in preventing fraudu- 
lent voting and connivance thei'cat on the part of election officers. The 
Governor attempts, at the close of " his objections," to argue for a 
secret ballot, apparently forgetful that by the State Constitution and 
the decision of the Court of Appeals, all voting is and must be by 
secret ballot. Tlie pretense, that in order to throw out any il- 
legal vote in the event of a " legislative or judicial scnitiny," 
it would be necessary (although the bill " does not authorize this 
to be done," the Governor says) to mark the ballot is so fool- 
ish, shallow and untrue, as to be unworthy of notice. With hardly 
an exception, not a legislative session, state or national, has been 
held for the last quarter of a century, without seats therein being con- 
tested, committees appointed, evidence taken, and the knowledge as to 
how, when and where an elector voted, obtained with comparatively 
little difficulty. But the Governor, having never served in a legislative 
body, and being still in the hands of his party trainers may have been 
ignorant of such fact, and innocently unaware of the rule of such bodies 
governing testimony and witnesses. We must, therefore, forbear all 
further discussion of the sul)ject, for " where ignorance is bliss 'tis folly 
to be wise " was truthfully written long years ago. 



APPENDIX. 



"EEDDT THE BLACKSMITH." 

William Varley. alias " Redely the Blacksmith," 
now ail inmate of the Tombs, awauii;g irial for 
the robbery of one Lawrence Graham, of New 
Jersey, who was enticed into his saloon in the 
cellar of No. 7 Chatham Square, is a villain of the 
deepest dye. He is 35 years of ai^e, 5 feet 7 3-4 
inches hi<;\i— light complexion, with red hair and 
known to^the police as a pickpocket, and a thief, 
larg<5 pandy m. ustache. Although very well 
he has always manaifed to escape punishment, 
for the reason that his valuable political services 
during the time of el ctions in manipulating 
votes and voters in the 4th and 7th Wards, could 
not be disiipiised with by Tammany Whether 
he will be i-imilarly fortunate this time is a ques- 
tion, the settlement of ivhich is anxiously awaited 
by the public. The cut presented on^a preceding 
pao-c is from a picture for which ' Reddy" sat 
a short time since. 

Following the example of many illustrious 
predecessors "Reddy"- rejoices in being the 
chief or leader of a gang or tribe which does him 
honor by biariug liis name. It scms hardly 
Becessary to add that " Reddy's" followers pos- 
fess a name and characer similar to their leader, 
althongh {.'cnerally less widely known. The 
writer not long since came into iwssession of an 
aiitheniic list of members of " The William Var- 
ley AesociatioB," and takes pleasure in being 
ible to make their names j)ublic. They are : 

William Varley p-'ius '• Reddy the Blackemith." 

WilliMn Johnson. 

Allen Mxrtin, 0) 

Charles Taylor. 

William Msnn;iij, 

Jlaibcw Banniiii, 

James Moore, 

Patrick N(dan , alia.^ ' ' John Reilly," 

James Walker, 

John Finn, 

Michael Cobey, alias Heni7 Wllliama, alias 
Charh;s driut, 

Bicliard Ha\es, 

William Brown, 

Wall Walsh, 

David Callahan, 

Thomas Osbom, 

■William Burtcn. 

Thomas Varley, brother of " Reddy," 

Georjje Knowles, 

Charles 'Wilson, alia» Henry J. Lawrence, alias 
" Nibbs," 

Lawrence Fitzgerald. 

Michael Varhy, brother of " Reddy," alias 
Chus. Anderson. 

The following ia a literal copy of an ori'-'innl 
letter rcc<^ived by " Redi.v" from a confederate 
Incarcerated in the Tombs for thclt. The oi igi- 
nal is now in the possession of the writer. As 
yiustrative of the nature of the Transactions of 
"Keddy" and his gang it is inserted. 

Dccemher 2;-!th. 

frienil Wm. Varley, will you Be so kind to eend 
mo Borack By some one if you ciint come to see 
me yourself one Dollar andabitof chuck for I am 
starving and perithing with cold, friend general 
it his not much I ask and you know if I get a\* ay 
you would have it — I geua you no that. Tom 
Davis was in here to sec some one. I gens Dan 
Noble But passing my cell I called Tom and they 
Btopt talking to mo what 1 was in for and I told 
them and thrn ask me do go to down Reddys 
and I sayod yes. he then a'iked me how yon was 
gettinij on and I told him you was Doing good 
and then Dan and him ask Did send me anything. 
I told I Did no Dout you would if you knew 
where i was. old general this fust i ever ask and I 
hop;- you wont Deny me it will not Brfak you nor 
make you. Give best wishes to yonr Wife Emma 
Diy Best frleucL iny rcspocta to torn and Mickey. 



tell Emma if I get away she would have tho 
pleasure wearing one. she knows that. 

I am in my own name Michael Sullivan, cell 99 
third tier, old general you do that for me and il 
will be luck to you for you and Emma his the 
only tow friends i have. I geus sing sing thia 
time. But never mind, ash for Breakfast and a 
shower Bath for supper. But they cant served 
me worst than I have Been, no no more at present 
from your well wither. Borack for god sake Do 
it for I shall croak here with cold. 



PATRICK H. KEENAN. 

This gentleman is a Coroner of the City and 
Comity of New York. We have on page six 
referred to a gang of repeaters registering from 
his residence and given the portrait of Ihe^ leader 
of the gang. Coroner Keenan being examined 
under oath by the Congressional Committee tes- 
tified that but " three males" over 21 years of 
age resided in his heuse, himself, James Ryan 
and Denis O'Neil. The names of ten orher per- 
Bons, amonff which wag that of Robert A. Jouea, 
who had illegally registered therefrom, were 
then road to him and the question put him, if he 
knew men of those names. The reply was, " I 
do not." The ofhcer who saw the registrations 
made testified that he knew Robert A. Jcmes, 
and that said Jones "goes (went) to Keenan'a 
house a good deal, but he does (did) not live 
there." When the writer first noticed this dis- 
crepancy in the testimony he endeavored to be- 
lieve that it was possible for Jones to visit Kee- 
nan'a house cansiderably and Keenan not know 
him, as it might be that Jones visited Ryan or 
O'Neil, thougn the latter is Keenan's brother-in- 
law. Since then tlie author has received cartain 
evidence which convinces him that the Coroner 
did know Robert A. Jom s when he swore on the 
Slst of December, 1868, he did not. That each 
reader may judge for himself whether the fact is 
not so, the following paper, a f opy of the original 
ia the possession of the writer ia appended. 

New York, Oct. 27, 18GS. 
Sin:— A meeting of the P. II. Keenan Asso- 
ciation will be held at No. 29 East Broadway, oa 
Saturday eveuinLT, the 31st inst., at eight o'clock^ 
Your punctual attendance is requested. 

R. A. Jones, President. 
E. N. Lafpet, Secretary. 

It should be remembered that 29 East Broad- 
way, where this meeting of the Keenan Associa- 
tion was called for, was where Walling arrested 
the repeaters and seized their book. (Bee page 
sis.) The evening, October 31st., was tliet 
night Judge Barnard discharged said repeatew, 
(See page seven.) and the hour for the meeting- 
eight o'dock, was one hour after the time men- 
tinned in the writ of habeas corpus procured by 
Counsellor Howe f-r the appearance of the re- 
peaters at Judge Barnard's house. (See page 
eight.) A singular state of jiffairs ceruiinly, 
hut it must not be assnmod that the arrested eiglit 
were anxious to attend the meeting of tho 1'. II. 
Keenan Association. The writer has, however, 
an opinion upon the subject. Each reader will 
form hie own. 

JOSEPH FARUELL. 
llie portrait of this man as it apprar- in the 
Rogue's (iallery at Police Headquaners li;is been 
heretofore given. He is also known !)v the 
aliafes of Lawrence Farrell and William Peirce. 
He is about 19 years of age, 5 fret 11 1-2 ir.cves in 
height, of lieht complexion, and a burgiar by oc- 
cupation. Under the name of Lawrence Fajrell 
he was brought before the Congressional Com- 
niitteo by one ol the Demon ntic meinl)er-.. Hi» 
ilircctex.i' iiittllini •.>::i>' wvy \)rl::'. and e!ic l^;dne. 




JOSEPH (alias LAWKEXCE) FARRELL, alias WM. l^IERCE. 
Burglar, etc.. etc. (See Ajipoiidix.) 



'61 



Inforraatjon. but upon being i>nbjected to a pevere 
croi»8-qnest:oninK he testified that he could fur- 
nish "tt thoupand persons" who had repeated at 
the Presidential election. Ilis statemcHt nnsup- 
jwrted would he utterly worthless, hut tJiken in 
connection with his admission that on the niirht 
before the flection he was at the Jackson Club 
rooms, where Sheriff O'lJrien wns present, and a 
" lot of men" were conirregaled renders it prob- 
able that iu thia matter Farrell told the truth. 



JAMES AND PATRICK GOFP. 

Those two brothers are the men referred to' nn 
another pape iis beinfj entcased before the courts in 
obtainin>r fraudulent naturali/.ation certificates. 
It was testified to before the Congressional Com- 
mittee that an examination of the records on file 
In the Clerk's office ef the Supreme and Superior 
Courts showed that these two individuals were 
accepted as witnesses to the residence and "eood 
moral charactir" of fix hvmired and gizty-six 
(6C6) applicants. Of this number they appeared 
In the Supreme Court five htmdred and twenty- 
/?/'o times and in the Superior on* hundred and 
forty-four. Of the 27,(X)8 certificates In the 
Supreme Court unaccounted for there is no 
method of ascertaining^ how many were obtained 
by these men. That it was a very lar^e number 
there can be no doubt as it was sworn before the 
Committee that one of them was seen to have in 
his possession last Fall, in the opinion of the 
witness, "over four thoui-and" uiituiulizatiou 
papers. 

That the public may fully comprehend the char- 
acter of the witnesses which satisfied Judfjes Bar- 
nard and McCunn as to the qualifications and 
"pood moral character" of applicants forcitizen- 
ebin it is only necessary to add that the brothers 
Goff are well known disreputable and criminal 
characters. A member of the jjolice fiirce testi- 
licd before the Committee that he had arrested 
both of them ; that Jame* was '" a jrrofMsional 
tfiief;^' and that within forty-eight hours oi the 
close of naturalization proceedings in the courts 
"James was arrested for sicaliiifj^ a gold wa ch 
and chain and two diamond riiijja." Of course 
they escape punishment. 



and that on election morning he kept " opeo 
house from five to six o'clock" and breakfasted ai 
considerable number of men. 



JAMES O'BRIEN. 

-This individual Is [the Sheriff of the Connty of 
New Yi rk. He is about 39 years of aire, some 5 
feet7inchesinhei"ht, of light complexion, smooth 
fiice and stout build. His early life was jjsssed in 
the employ of a stonecutter. When about 1-^ ho 
was a rested, indicted and convicted " of riotand 
assault and battery." Jndf^e Barnard, then Re- 
corder, sentenced him to " six months" imjirison- 
mcnt "in the Penitentiary of the City of New 
York," but he was pardoned by the Governor be- 
fore the expiration of liis term. He has since 
served as a member of the Common Council and 
for some two years past as Sheriff. Wa have 
heretofore referred to the characters of tiose who 
surrounded him and cnj y his confidence, and 
shall hereafter notice othera of his more promis- 
ing and trusted satellites. It wns ostalilished 
beiore the C<>upreiisinal Comniiir<je that on the 
night before the election then-e assembled at the 
rooms of the Jackson Club— an an-ociation of 
whi>-h the Sheriff is a ))ri)miiieut and active mem- 
ber— soiae two or three hundred men. Th«t a 
large number of those men remain •<! there ad 
niglit, and before daybrcMik on thr following 
morning were piloted to whut they wcie infofmeil 
and believed was the SherilPs residence where 
breakfast was furnished them. Their hunger 
beinf( satisfied they were shortly started out, and 
furnished from the Club House and elsewhere 
with naraeu and residences upon which they 
voted throughout the day in the most reckless 
and extravagant manner. The Sheritf being ex- 
amined a^ to tliese matters admitted his connec- 
tion with the Jackson Club : that he wa* present 
at the Club rooms tlm nigi.t b;-fore election ; that 
a large number of lueu were thora at that time; 



DAVID MYERS, 

a^ia^Da%nd Mullen, is a Till Tapper, about a.") years 
of age and .5 feet 6 1-2 inches high. Tlie cut wo 
have published is engraved from a photoprajih in 
the Rogue's Gallery. He was arrested on the 2Mh 
of November, Is»i8, together with two other dis- 
reputable characters, on suspicicm of Grand lar- 
ceny, but on examination before a magistrate was 
dischartrcd. On the person of one of the men wa9 
found a warrant appointing David Mull en a special 
Deputy Sheriff to assist in preserving the public 
peace at the time of the election. 

PATRICIC itcCAFFREY. 

This man was fonnerly a special Deputy ShorlfT- 
Quiio naturally he was'found largely euL'aged in 
procuring fraudulent naturalization certificates. 
It has been tcstifted thftt his name appears as a 
witness two hundred and fiftv-one times in tho 
Supremo Court, and upon two hundred and fifty- 
two apj^lications in the Superior. A total of j?Da 
hundred and t>ro perscms known to him to be of 
" goiKl moral choiacter" and entitled to natural- 
ization. 



JOHN MORAN. 

Dnring the lime when the Supreme and Supe- 
rior Court* were engaged in naturalization this 
man was one c^f the most active and earnest parti- 
cipants in the work of obtaining fraudulent certi- 
ficates. It was testified to before tho Coniniitteo 
that in the Supreme Court he appeared by the 
records to have been a witness for four Inindred 
and j!/7v-/i?-«(4.'i.')) applicants, and in the Sniierior 
for two hundred and niiuty-nine (2?)1(). or a total of 
sneu hundrtd and fifty four (754) persons. Of 
these orte hundred and twelve in a nni^le day in 
the Supreme Court. A most excellent witness as 
to qualifications and "good moral character." 
For t-ome reason shortly after the election he en- 
tered the enip oy of the Sheriff, and for conniving 
at tho escape of a noted bond robber placed in hia 
custody for delivery at the State Irison. was sul)- 
8e(iuently convicted and sentenced to imprison- 
ment in Sing Sing, where ho is supposed now 
to bo. 



FLORENCE SCANNEL 

is a maa ef about 5 feet 6 in height, Hcht com- 
plexion and stout build, with a chestal and mus- 
cular deTclopmeut such as the writer never sjiw 
equall»d. He is about 2.3 yeai-s of age, a biitchcf 
by trade, and the owner of'^one or more valuable 
stands in West Washington Market. His osten- 
eilde business is styled by him as "horse trad- 
ing." though the police, who are thoroughly ac- 
quainted with the details, designate it by a iiamo 
more in accord with its real nature. During tho 
war Scannel was largely interested in faro banks 
in WashiniTton and Alexandria, and, as we are in- 
formed and believe, now " runs a small game" in 
Fourth aveuue. near Twenty-seventh street, 
which iwlA him a monthly income of some 
;J;i,(!00. His education is somewhat limited, but 
enables him to read print niiifi- readily and writo 
his name in a very fair hancl, but it is witli difiic;!- 
ty he can read the most ordinary words when writ- 
ten. Ho is exceedingly p. pular with iho 
"b'hoys," and prides hiniself on a repntatit.n of 
being a teetotnller. In jjollt cs Scannel is an un» 
adulterated Democrat of unbounded pluck and 
rae i>olilical strength, lie was chosen to a seat 
in tho Board of Councilmcn In 1866. As wil. ha 
sen on page nine, tjcanncl was examined as 
a witness before tho Congressional t'oinniittce. 
His api'oaiance and manner were sUiking niid 
pe<niliar. 

At the close of the examination being informed 
that he might go be turned to the Committee aod 



32 



In his blandest tones Bald : " Well gentlemen I 
Old you trood day. I have no doubt w.; shall 
meet again, for I'm coniini? down there to Con- 
gress some day. You may lust bet your livc8 I 
am." Hi8 l-elief and prediction were speedily 
venfled, althoagh not in the manner threatened, 
for havin;,' in response to a queation of the Com- 
mittee refused to an.swer, adding " I would rather 
go to the Tombs all my life than do it," he was 
arrested, broujjht before the bar of the House of 
Kepresenutivea and directed to answer the quea- 
tion. Still refusing', claiming that he had forgot 
ten the desired facts, he was fined the cost ofhis 
arret-t (some $75) and incarcerated in default of 
payment. Preferring to enact the role of a mar- 
tyr to payii;^' the fine he was ftirnished quarters 
in tl,.: l«*cineiit of the Capitol for some flvo 
weiiks, and until the adjournment of Congress. 



JOHN T. HOFFMA.N. 

On the 3 st of October, tho day on which In- 
spector VV'alliQ^ arrested the repeaters and seized 
their books, and the day on which Judge Barnard 
il]e":ully released those repeaters, the then Mayor 
of tlie city of New York, now Governor, and pros- 
pecctive Democratic candidate for t^e Presidency 
issued a proclamation. He charged I. that "gross 
and unfounded charges of fraud are being made * 
* ai,'ainst those high in authority." II. That 
' threats are made against naturalized citizens 
and the authority of the judges and the seal of the 
Supreme Court is defied." Til. " Agrand jury of 
the United Stttes Court summoned through tho 
agency of those who are in this scheme has, as I 
Lave t)een informed, been induced without that 
preliminary examination which is usual, and 
which is afforded by l.iw <or the protection of 
character to find in great haste and secrecy bills 
«f indictment against divers persons f r the pur- 
pose openly avowed of intimidating them in the 
discharge of their public duties.'" IV. ''The 
United St^itcs Slarshal * * has assumed to 
himself the powerandduty of appointing swarms 
of special deputies to take their place at the polls 
to threaten and awe the electors of the State of 
New York in the exercise of their high privilej-e 
«f casting their votes for the chief officers of the 
nation and the State." These several acts the 
Mayor proceeded to say were done "for two 
purposes." 

"First. To conceal and cover their own schemes 
cf fraud which they hope to consummate by the 
aid of untried or unpardoned criminals. 

Second. So to excite the masses of people in 
this city who are opposed to them as to lead 
them into acts of disorder and violent resist- 
ance." 

Mr. Hoffman was called before the Congres- 
sional Committee and being sworn was very 
eeverely examined upon each of these points. The 
writer never saw a more pitiable spectacle than 
the Mayor presented at that time. i3ut our read- 
ers may judge thereof for themselves. Not a 
single charge contained in the procl.imation could 
the Mayor sustain in any way. He swore that 
it "was common report based on the statements 
of many individuals," Ac, that threats were 
made amiinst naturalized citizens, but stated that 
he could not mention the names of a single per- 
son who made such a statement. He swore that 
*' it was announced in many of the papers," &c., 
**that the registrars * * * had a right to go 
behind the certificates of naturalization * * * 
to deny the validity of them, to examine into 
their genuineness or irregularity, and to refuse 
to register, if in their judgment they thought 
proper so to do." but that he could not furnish a 
reference to any such newspaper. He swore that 
lie " had no knowledge" of the issue of fraudulent 
naturalization papers, atihough " such charges 
■were made in the papers," and that he took no 
steps to ascertain the correctness of such charges. 
In reference to tho tliird cliarge of his proclama- 
tion he swore that it was so " generally under- 



stood in the city," although he conld not give the 
name of "any person" who so stated, and he did 
not believe the United States grand jury "had 
been summoned or procured to be summoned ia 
any other than the legal and nsual way," or that 
the indictments found by it " were found without 
the examination that is usual by grand juries in 
that court." He swore in reference to his fourth 
charge that it was so "generally understood," 
but that he took no steps to ascertain from any 
official source whether it was true or not. Mar- 
shal Murray testified that A« did nof appoint a sin- 
gle deputy. In reference to the first purpose for 
which he charged these things were attempted, 
the Mayor swore that he had "merelv the 
statements made to me (him) by confidential 
friends and the District Attorney in reference to 
Theodore Allen for whose arrest a bench warrant 
had been issued which the police "would not ex- 
ecute." Tuere wore others he believed men- 
tioned by the District Attorney, but their names 
were not given him. and he took no steps to 
ascertain their numoer. He swore that he sup- 
posed he had evidence that republicans were en- 
gaged in schemes of fraud, because they held cer- 
tain secret meetings, and for the reason that "it 
was very well understood that immense sums of 
money were being contributed by very wealthy 
men, candidates for office and others." This and 
this only was the purport of the Mayor's jus- 
tification for his wicKed and lying proclamation. 
It speaks for itself in every particular, save the 
reference to Theodore Allen. Let us 'therefore 
ascertain the facts in that matter. 

Mr. A. Oakey Hall, then District Attorney being 
examined as to the information given Mayor 
Hoffman by him in this matter, testified that he 
knew of but a singU case. That it was not Theo- 
dore Allen but one Wesley Allen for whose arrest 
the bench warraut nad issued. That said war- 
rant "was out three weeks before the election, 
and was never executed uiwil after the election, 
although the man was in the city, and I, (Dist. 
Attorney Hall) could have arrested him at any 
moment." 

It would seem therefore that the "untried or 
pardoned criminals" charged by the Mayor as 
about to be used by the Republicans to conceal 
and cover their own schemes of fraud, consisted 
of oiu individual, Wesley Allen who was in no 
manner chirged to be or ever to have been a Re- 
publican to any extent or in any measure whatso. 
ever. Capt, Mills to whom the* bench warrant 
was delivered, and who in the language of the 
District Attorney is " a high minded, incor- 
ruptible, splendid police captain" was next 
examined He testified that late in October he 
received from the District Attorney a bench war- 
raut for the arrest of Wesley Allen, with positive 
instructions to let no one know that he had such 
warrant. That acting under such orders he made 
every possible exertion to find Allen, even visi- 
ting Brooklyn "and other places where he fre- 
quented" for that purpose. That he communi- 
cated the fact of his having the warrant to no 
" liviu'' soul," not even to his own sergeants or 
the pi>lice superintendent, but that it was not 
until the lOtli of November that he was able to 
find Wesley Allen, when he at once arrested him. 
Thus it will be seen that in every respect Capt. 
Mills performed his whole duty. It may not be 
uninteresting to our readers to add that Capt. 
Mills further stated, and this will show the force 
of Mayor Hoffman's chari'e as to pardcmed 
criminals, " that Wesley Allen was a notorious 
thief," who had twice been to State's Prison, but 
that his second terra had been shortened by a par- 
don granted by Governor Fenton. 'ipoil the appli- 
cation 'if District Attorney Hall and others. And 
that Mr. Hall had himself stated to him this was 
the fact, and that he (Hall) was "satisfied Allea 
was not" guilty of the crime for which he was 
sentenced- and still further— upon arresting Allen 
he was turned over to the District Attorney and 
incarcerated in the Tombs for about a mouth, 
"when he was set atlibertv." 



THE WIG AND THE -IIMMY: 

A LEAF IN THE 

POLITICAL HISTORY or Ps^EW YORK. 



This work is a concise and accurate statement of the gross frauds on tlie 
elective franchise perjDetrated by or on behalf of the Democratic party in 
the State of New York at the Presidential election of 1868 as the same 
were ascertained by a Committee of the House of Representatives of the 
Congress of the United States. As its title would imply the wicked and 
illegal conduct of the Jut>GES and Thieves who aided, abetted or participa- 
ted in the conspiracy is fully considered. The reasons which prevented 
action by the Fortieth Congress upon the report of the Committee, the 
remedies proposed and bills sure to become laws at the coming session of 
the Forty-first Congress, the amended registry bill passed by the last 
State Legislature, and the reasons of the Governor for refusing to sign 
such bill are each and all fully detailed and carefully discussed. 

A short appendix descriptive of some of the more active conspirators 
abounds in interesting and startling focts. 

The following extracts from letters received by the author from the 
members of the Congressional Committee who investigated the facts, 
establish the accuracy of the work and its value as a means of aiit^rding 
reliable information upon the subjects treated of: - >"■ » 

{From the Hon. Wm. Lawrence of Ohio, Chairman.'] 

"Your work is much needed to enable the American people to become acquainted 
with the dangers through which they have passed, and to provide adequate remedies to 
prevent their recurrence in the future. * * * The certainty of exposure of men 
guilty of frauds is one of the great auxiliaries by which the public indignation may be 
aroused. Your work supplies the needed expose to call into useful exercise the law- 
making power and the force of public opinion." 

\_From the Hon. Henry L. Dawes of Mass^ 
" As far as I have been able to examine the advance sheets of your work, they seem 
to be very full and accurate. Unless the nation awakes to the magnitude and enormity 
of the gigantic frauds by which it was attempted to deluge the ballot box in New York 
in 1868, and has the courage to apply the remedy in season, the forms of an election 
will soon be of little or no use. I bid you God speed in disseminating this in- 
formation." 

[From the Hon. Austin Blair of Mich ^ 

" I think your work cannot fail to do good. In fact I am glad to see any effort to 
arouse the people to a sense of the great enormity of the frauds upon the elt-ctive fran- 
chise which seem to have grown into an organized system in New York, and to be 
spreading into other cities." 

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